Forbidden Love
by ilse23
Summary: Callen has a crush on the newest addition to their team, but he knows it's against the rules for them to date. But he can't help the feelings that he has for her. But does she have the same feelings for him? Mostly T rated, some small parts are a little bit M rated. *Will update on Saturdays*
1. Chapter 1

It had been 2 years since Lorainne "Lori" Carter had joined the team. Callen was really starting to like her. She was a good agent. He had been undercover with her a couple times and he was impressed with how she handled herself. Lately Callen began to wonder if he saw her as more than just a colleague. He liked hanging out with her and he always felt different when she was around, not that he had shown to anyone. But he couldn't help to have these certain feelings for her.

But he was afraid to act on them. Because he didn't know how she felt about him. And he wasn't sure himself. He never had these kinds of feelings for a woman before. Should he ask her out on a date? And what if he asked her out and she said no? And then of course there was his rule about not dating someone who had their own handcuffs and not to forget Hetty's rule about co-workers dating.

Just as he was thinking about that the other agents walked in.

"Morning G," Sam said.

"Morning guys," Callen said.

"Anyone got plans for the weekend?" Kensi asked.

"Nah not really," Deeks said.

"I'm going out tomorrow night. What about you Kens?" Lori said.

"Nothing special," Kensi said and then they heard Eric whistling.

"New case on deck guys," Eric said.

The agents went upstairs. Eric and Nell explained the case to them. A marine had been killed. The team went to work to catch his killer.

9 hours later they had managed to grab his killer without any of the team getting seriously injured.

Everybody had already gone home for the weekend. Callen was still sitting in the bullpen working behind his laptop. He was thinking about Lori and if he should ask her out. During the day he managed to slip into the conversation the question about where she was going tomorrow and she told him.

"Still working I see, Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she appeared behind the agent.

"Just finishing up a report," Callen said.

"Come home, Mr. Callen, enjoy your weekend," Hetty said and she turned and walked away. "Goodnight Mr. Callen."

"Goodnight Hetty."

Callen logged off his computer and also went home for the weekend.

The next day…

Callen was sitting at home thinking what he should do and he decided to go to the same bar as where Lori was going to. He would see if she was there with friends or by herself.

He put on some nice clothes and went to the bar. When he walked in he saw Lori sitting at the bar. She seemed to be alone. Callen walked up to her.

"Hi, is this seat taken?" Callen said.

"Callen? What are you doing here?" Lori said.

"I'm just grabbing a beer and I saw you sitting all by yourself at the bar and I thought I'd join you, unless you're not here alone."

"No, it's fine. My friend actually just cancelled on me, she wasn't feeling well so I was just about to go home, but now that you're here we can keep each other company, unless you're not here alone."

"That's fine by me. I would love to join you."

"Okay, then I didn't dress up for nothing."

"Speaking of that: I must say you look very nice."

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself."

"Thank you."

They spent the entire evening talking to each other. They were actually enjoying themselves. They both saw a different side of each other, one they had not seen at the office or when they were undercover.

Around 1am they were both pretty tipsy and they decided to call it a night.

"You gonna catch a cab?" Callen said.

"No, I'm just gonna walk. I only live a couple blocks from here and it's not that far," Lori said.

"Alright, I'll walk you home then."

"Okay that's fine. I really enjoyed tonight. I really had a good time."

"Me too. It's nice to get out and just relax."

"Yeah it really is."

About 20 minutes later they were in front of Lori's house.

"This is me," Lori said. "Thank you for walking me home."

"It is my absolute pleasure. I really had a good time. I would really like to do this again."

"Me too, but isn't it against the rules?"

"We're just two colleagues having something to drink together. There's nothing wrong with that right?"

"Right. Well goodnight. I'll see you Monday."

"Goodnight," Callen said and he kissed her on her cheek.

The kiss caught Lori a bit off guard and she looked into his eyes and she noticed Callen's beautiful blue eyes and before Lori knew it her lips where on Callen's lips. Their lips only touch for a moment before Lori pulled back. They looked at each other and Callen grabbed her and planted another kiss on her lips, this time the kiss lasted longer. Lori pulled back and grabbed Callen's hand and pulled him inside. Lori closed the door and Callen pushed her against the door and cupped her face with his hands and kissed her again. Lori totally kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him to pull him even closer and Callen started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Should we be doing this?" Lori asked.

"I don't know, maybe not. But I can't help myself," Callen said while kissing her.

"I know me neither," Lori said and she started unbuttoning Callen's shirt as well.

Callen lifted her up and Lori wrapped her legs around him and Callen kissed her down her neck. Lori screamed with pleasure as he did that and that made Callen kiss her even more.

"Which way to the bedroom?" Callen said.

"This way," Lori said and she got back down on the floor and pulled Callen towards the bedroom while kissing him and taking off his clothes.

Once they were in the bedroom Lori pushed Callen onto the bed and took off the rest of her clothes and Callen did the same with his and kissed Lori again. Lori pushed him back onto the bed and jumped on top of him and started kissing him again.

"Well I guess it turns out to be a good thing that my friend cancelled on me tonight," Lori said with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Oh yes I guess it is," Callen replied with the same cheeky smile and he kissed her again.

Callen rolled her on her back and pulled the sheets over them. They had the most amazing sex together.

The next morning Callen was awake before Lori. He had gone out of bed already and he had dressed himself and was making some breakfast when Lori woke up. Lori got out of bed and dressed herself and walked towards the kitchen to get some breakfast. For a moment Lori had forgotten about what happened last night until she saw Callen standing in her kitchen.

"Good morning sunshine," Callen said.

"Good morning," Lori said.

"I made you some eggs," Callen said and Lori sat down at the kitchen table.

"We did do what I think we did last night, didn't we? I mean it wasn't a dream, was it?"

"No, it wasn't a dream."

"But what are we gonna do with work now then?"

"Well there's no reason why we can't work together anymore. I mean I think we're both professional enough to keep our private life out of our work life. Right?"

"Right. And we can't tell anyone. If Hetty found out she could send one of us away."

"Hetty is not gonna find out and I won't let her send you or me away. We're both too much of an asset to the team. And speaking of last night, I really enjoyed it. All of it."

"Me too. Especially that last part."

"Yeah, that was pretty amazing."

"Yeah it was amazing."

Callen stayed the rest of the Sunday at Lori's house and they went out to dinner together. Afterwards Callen dropped her off at her place and kissed her goodnight and went home and they agreed that they would act normally the next day at the office.

"Morning Kens," Lori said when she walked into the office the next day.

"Morning Lori. How was your weekend?" Kensi said.

"Fine, went out with some friends. Yours?"

"Fine too. Just relaxed and spend some time with my mom."

A little later they were joined by the other agents and they heard Eric whistling.

"What have you got Eric?" Callen asked as they walked into OPS.

"LAPD found a body early this morning. His body had washed up on shore. Captain James Reese. He was naval intelligence," Eric said.

"Anything specific about this guy?"

"According to his records he was working on a highly classified mission. I tried to see what it's about but I can't get in," Nell said.

"Any reason that the mission could have been compromised by his death?" Lori asked.

"It's a possibility."

"Alright. Kensi, Deeks you check out the crime scene. We'll check out his house," Callen said and the team left.

Callen, Sam and Lori arrived at his house. They looked around to see if they could find anything that could lead to this killer. Lori found a laptop.

"I'll take this back for Eric. Maybe he can get something off of it," Lori said.

They returned back to the office.

"Hey, what did you guys find out?" Callen said.

"Reese was dumped in the ocean but not after he had been hit in the head," Kensi said.

"So what was cause of death?"

"The blow to the head."

"I'll get this to Eric," Lori said and she walked upstairs. "Hey Eric. Got something for you. Reese's laptop. See what you can get off of it."

"Got it," Eric said and he went to work.

Callen, Sam and Lori were on their way to talk to Captain Robert Hayes, he and Reese were both working on the same mission. Just as they pulled up to his house they heard a loud noise coming from inside the house. They all grabbed their guns and moved towards the house. Sam kicked in the door.

"Federal agents!" Callen yelled and they quickly had to dodge some bullets. Sam shot one guy. They others guys tried to make a run for it. Callen and Lori went after them to stop them. They were firing back at that. Lori dove behind the kitchen counter to avoid the bullets. She had been hit. Callen had managed to shot one of the guys. The other one got away. Callen went back to check on Lori.

"You okay Lori?" Callen said.

"Yeah. I'm good. It's just a flesh wound. Did you get them?" Lori said.

"One of them. The other one got away."

"Guys, I found Captain Hayes," Sam called from the living room and he called Eric for an ambulance.

"Is he still alive?" Callen asked.

"Yes but barely. You two okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Bullet just grazed my arm," Lori said.

A few minutes later the ambulance arrived. They took Hayes to the hospital and they patched Lori up. They returned to the office. Eric was trying to find the guy that got away. About 2 hours later they got a call from the hospital that Captain Hayes was awake. Callen and Sam went to talk to him. He ID'd the guys who were at his house.

Callen, Sam, Kensi, Deeks and Lori went to catch him. Eric had found out where he was. When they arrived at the location, they saw him on the peer talking to some other guy. He spotted them and tried to make a run for it. The guy he was talking to as well. Callen, Sam and Lori went after one guy and Kensi and Deeks after the other. Both chases ended up with the agents shooting and killing the guy.

The case was closed.

Lori and Callen were spending more and more time together after work. They would go out to dinner or to the movies or something. After that night in the bar and the amazing time afterwards at Lori's place, they decided to take it a little bit more slowly. To get to know each other better before having sex again.

They were at Lori's place and they had ordered in a pizza.

"Can I ask you something Lori?" Callen said.

"Sure what is it?" Lori said.

"Well you already know about my family and that I grew up in foster care but what about your family?"

"Well I have 2 brothers and a sister and they live in Seattle and so do my parents."

"Seattle really? You're a long way from home then."

"Well yeah, but I grew up here in LA, we moved to Seattle when I was like 12. After I finished the academy I went to work with the FBI in Portland before I joined you guys here."

"Do you talk to your parents often?"

"Not as often as I would have liked. And I don't see them a lot cus of the job. But that's okay. I choose this live."

"Do you parents know you're a federal agent?"

"Yes they know, but they think I still work with the FBI. They don't know about NCIS."

"Are any of your parents federal agents or in the navy?"

"Nope, why do you ask?"

"Just curious what made you become a federal agent."

"Ah well, I always wanted to become a cop or something like that. I wanted to apply for the police academy first but then I saw that there was another academy to become a federal agent, so I did that instead. And after I graduated I applied for a job at the bureau and 2 years ago Hetty recruited me for the office here. How about you? What made you become a federal agent?"

"Well, being an orphan and having now family whatsoever, it was easy for me to go into a job where I could chase down bad case and go on undercover mission. I had no one to look out for but myself and no one that would need to know what kind of job that I did. So I worked with the FBI, CIA, DEA and then Hetty recruited me to work at the NCIS office here in LA and I really like it here. I finally feel at home here, the team is like a family to me."

"Yes, I the two years I've been here I really noticed that you guys look out for each other."

"Well yeah, apart from Sam nobody has a family of his or her own and the rest of the family they don't see very often so we are sort of a surrogate family in a way I guess."

"Did you ever doubt or regret your decision to become a federal agent?"

"No, never. This is who I am. How about you?"

"Sometimes I do wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't become a federal agent, would I still be living in Seattle, what job I would have then? But I never regret it. This is me, I like being a federal agent."

They managed to keep their private life out of their work life, although it was hard sometimes. Sometimes they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and they would sneak off to a quiet place where they would kiss each other very passionately.

"We shouldn't be doing this here," Lori said.

"I know, but I just can't help myself. Every time I see you I just wanna grab you and kiss you," Callen said.

"But what if someone catches us?"

"No one is gonna catch us, don't worry."

"Maybe we should go back before they miss us."

"In a minute," Callen said and he kissed her again.

2 months later….

Callen felt like lately Lori was trying to avoid him. She wasn't going with him so many times on cases anymore. She would go with Kensi and Deeks or stay at the office to do some research. And also after work, she would say that she was busy when he asked if she wanted to go do something and she wouldn't stay in the same room with him if they were alone. Callen was worried. Did she not like spending time with him anymore? Would she want to end their relationship?

On a slow day he saw Lori heading to the armory. He decided to follow her and ask her what's going on.

"Hey Lori," Callen said and he noticed that they were alone.

"Hey Callen," Lori said.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Can't it wait? I was gonna do some target practice."

"No, it can't. Have I done something wrong?"

"No. Why would you say that?"

"Okay. Then could you please tell me why you are trying to avoid me lately?"

"I'm not trying to avoid you. I've just been busy lately."

"Really? Cus lately I have the feeling you don't want to spend any time alone with me anymore. You're always saying that there's something else you need to do. Just tell me if you don't wanna see me anymore. I'll back off. But I thought we were having a good time together."

"We are having a good time and it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Lori sighed heavily. "I'm pregnant."

Callen's eyes widened with shock. For a minute it was quiet.

"Are you sure?" Callen asked.

"Yes. I'm sure. Doctor confirmed it. And I'm also sure it's yours."

"We only slept together once."

"I know, but once was enough. The doctor was absolutely sure that I'm pregnant. I know this isn't planned at all."

"No, it's not and I have no idea what to do right now," Callen said and he started to pace up en down the armory.

"Yeah me neither. I was so not expecting this."

"I need to get some fresh air," Callen said and he walked out.

"Callen wait," Lori said but Callen kept on walking and Lori was left standing there.

Lori wondered if she should go after him, but she decided to leave him be for a little while. She figured that he would come to her when he was ready to talk again. She really hoped she hadn't scared him off.

Lori did do some target practice and returned to the bullpen. She saw that Callen's seat was empty.

"Where's Callen?" Lori said as she sat down behind her desk.

"He walked past about 15 minutes ago. He said he went to get some fresh air. Haven't seen him since then," Sam said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to ask him something, but it can wait."

Callen returned about 30 minutes later. But they really hadn't had a chance to talk because Eric called that he had something new for them. They went to work on the case and Callen hardly talked to Lori unless it was work related.

7 hours later they were finished with the case and Callen had already gone home for the weekend. Callen and Lori had not talked since she told him that she was pregnant. Lori wondered if she should stop by Callen's place to try to talk to him. She decided to leave it for tonight and let Callen sleep on it. Maybe he was ready to talk to her tomorrow.

That night she was lying in bed thinking about everything that had happened. She was really happy when she was spending time with him and she really liked him. But now she was pregnant with his child and that changed everything. What if he didn't like it? He did run off when she told him and they had not spoken since. Lori really didn't want to lose what she and Callen had. Finally she had found someone who she really liked and who she didn't have to lie to about who she really was.

Callen didn't sleep much that night. He kept thinking about what Lori had told him earlier. He was having a baby. He didn't know anything about being a father and he wasn't sure he was ready to be a father. They had been only going out for about 2 months, but he really liked her. And he could be himself with her. No secrets, no aliases, no cover stories. Callen wondered what to do.

For a week they didn't speak to each other unless it was work related. Lori tried to speak to Callen but he didn't want to. That Friday evening Lori was sitting on the couch just thinking about everything that had happened lately. Earlier that day she had dropped off an envelope at Callen's house, just after he had left for work. She snapped out of her thoughts when there was a knock on the door. Lori opened the door. A man barged into the house and knocked her out cold.


	2. Chapter 2

Callen stayed at the office a little longer than everybody else; when he got home he found the envelope in the mail box. Callen took the mail inside and sat down on his chair and opened the envelope. Inside the envelope he found a letter and a CD.

He started reading the letter:

_Callen,_

_I don't even know where to begin. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself. When I found out I freaked out myself and I didn't know how to tell you. I'm really sorry I avoided you lately. It's just that I don't know what to do right now, I was so not expecting this right now. I know it's a lot to take in, but please think about it and come and talk to me. I can't stand this silence between us. _

_I would understand if you didn't want anything to do with this, but at least tell me so I know. _

_I really like the time we spent together. I would hate to see that end, but I would understand it if I were to. A lot has changed. I just hope we can talk about this and figure out a way to deal with this. I really like you G and I don't want to lose what we have._

_Please think about it. I heard this song yesterday and it made me think of you, of us. Please listen to it._

_Lori_

_.._

About 30 minutes later Lori was conscious again. She was tied up to a chair in her house.

"Well, look who decided to wake up again," the man said.

"What do you want?" Lori asked.

"The direct type I see. I like that in a woman."

"What do you want?"

"You probably don't remember me, since it was 10 years ago when we last saw each other. I was just a little boy back then. But I'm all grown up now."

"You! We are not responsible for what happened that day."

"The hell you are," the man said and he slapped her across the face. "You people murdered my father, my brother, my uncle."

"They paid for what they did just like you will for what you did."

"You're tough, I'll give you that. But we are all alone. Nobody is gonna come and rescue you."

"My team mates will know that I'm missing and they'll come for me."

"Of course they will. But unfortunately by the time they get here you're already dead."

Lori felt that her phone was in her back pocket. When he wasn't looking she tried to reach it. She got it and pressed in the code and then the message for the agents needs assistance alert. Once she had done that she quickly put the phone back in her pocket.

..

Callen decided to listen to the CD that was in the envelope. He put the CD in his laptop and hit the play button. The song Beyonce - Halo started playing.

Callen listened closely to the lyrics and the words hit him. He was shocked out of his thoughts when he heard his phone beeping with the Agent needs assistance alert. He saw that it came from Lori's phone. He grabs his keys and rushed to the office to find out what was going on.

The other agents were at home when they received the alert. They all rushed to the office.

"What do we know Eric?" Callen asked when he walked into OPS.

"The GPS in her phone has her at home. I tried to call her but there was no answer on the cell phone. Home phone is disconnected," Eric said.

"What about the camera or microphone on her phone?"

"Camera is black and I can't hear anything over the microphone."

"What about cameras outside her home? Did they catch something?"

"Checking….." About a minute later the video was on the screen. They saw a man knocking on her door and then forcing his way in.

"Is she still there?"

"According to her GPS, yes and the camera didn't spot them leaving."

"Alright. Let's go get her out," Callen said and the team went to the armory to gear up.

"You okay G?" Sam asked when they were sitting in the car.

"I'll be better once we get her out save," Callen said.

"She's tough G. She can handle herself."

15 minutes later they arrived at her house. Kensi and Deeks took a look around the house.

"What did you see?" Callen said.

"There's a man in the house. Lori is tied up to a chair. Looks like he hit her a few times," Kensi said.

"Alright. Kensi, Deeks, you take the back. We'll take the front."

They moved into position. Callen counted down and the stormed into the place.

"Federal agents! Get down on the ground," Callen said.

He tried to grab his gun but Callen shot him before he could fire a round. Kensi cleared him of his gun and Callen went to untie Lori.

"He's dead," Kensi said.

"You okay?" Callen said.

"Yeah I'm okay," Lori said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. He just only hit me a couple of times in my face. I've had worse."

"Who was that guy?" Sam asked.

"Some guy I dealt with about 10 years ago when I worked at the FBI. His father, brother and uncle were criminals. We took them out. He was just a kid at the time. He wasn't a threat back then. But now he decided he wanted revenge and since I was the one who actually pulled the trigger so to speak he came after me first."

"Well he's dead now. So he won't cause you any problems anymore," Deeks said.

"You sure you're okay?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah I'm fine."

20 minutes later the coroner's office was there and they took him away.

"I'm gonna stay behind a little longer. To make sure she's okay," Callen said as the other team members were leaving the house.

"Thank you. For coming to rescue me," Lori said when the others were gone and she gave Callen a kiss on his cheek.

"No problem. You had me worried when I received the agent needs assistance alert," Callen said as he took of his gear. Lori sat down on the couch.

"Listen Lori, I'm sorry I haven't talked to you since you told me. It's just I don't know what to do. I've never been in this type of situation before," Callen said and he sat down on the couch next to Lori.

"I know. Me neither. I was freaking out when I found out and I wouldn't blame you if you….."

Callen cut her off with a kiss.

"I love you Lori. There's no way I'm letting you do this on your own. We're in this together."

"Really? You mean that?"

"Yes. I mean that. I got the envelope you sent and read the letter and listen to the CD and I thought about this, about us. We can make this work. I don't know how yet, but we'll make this work."

Lori replied with a very hot kiss. Callen kissed her back and he put his hands on her cheeks. Lori gasped and pulled back when he did that.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"It's okay. These cuts just hurt a bit."

"Let me clean them up for you. Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Yeah it's in the bathroom."

Callen returned with the first aid kit and patched her up. It was already in the middle of the night so they decided to go to sleep.

Lori lay close to Callen and Callen had his arms around her.

"Thank you for staying with me tonight," Lori said.

"Of course. I'm glad that you're alright. I wouldn't know what I would have down if something happened to you," Callen said. "I'm really sorry for walking out on you and not talking to you the past week."

"It's okay. You're here now."

"Yes and I'm not leaving," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

The next morning Lori woke up and she saw Callen lying next to her and she felt his hand on her stomach and she put her hand on top of his and Callen started to wake up.

"Morning G."

"Morning Lori," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"What are we gonna do about work now? I mean sooner or later we have to tell the others. Cus something like this I can't keep secret. In a couple of weeks it will start showing."

"I know. But just for now let's just keep it between you and me," Callen said and he started kissing her.

Callen and Lori spend the next week together. After work Callen would go with her to her place and he would spend the night there. Callen really liked spending time with her and he just wanted to be with her now that they were having a baby. A couple of weeks later he started to think more about their relationship and where it was going.

"Hey Lori, can I ask you something?" Callen said as they were sitting on the couch.

"Sure, what's up?" Lori said.

"Would you move in with me? We've been spending all our time together in the last couple of weeks and I just want you with me now that we are having a baby."

"Really? You really want me to move in with you?"

"Yes. I love you and I want you with me."

Lori gave him a very hot kiss.

"I take it that's a yes."

"Yes it is. I would love to move in with you cus I love you too," Lori said and she gave him another passionate kiss.

Lori got up and pulled him over to the bedroom and pulled him down on the bed and kissed him fiercely and she started to unbutton his shirt.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Callen said. "I mean is it okay for you to do."

"Yes, it is. Doctor said it was no problem," Lori said and she pulled Callen closer to her.

Callen started kissing her down her neck and Lori couldn't help but let out a loud moan as he did so and that made Callen kiss her even harder. A little later Lori couldn't take it anymore and she pull him back up to her face and placed a very hot kiss on his lips and she wanted to take their clothes off as fast as possible.

About an hour later…..

"Oh my god, that was amazing," Callen said half out of breathe.

"Oh my god yes it was, totally amazing," Lori said also half out of breathe.

"It was even better than the first time."

"Yes it was, probably cus of all the pregnancy hormones raging through my body right now."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, especially lately. Every time I see you I just want walk up to you and give you a very hot kiss and make out with you. But I can hardly do that in the office."

"Well, we're not in the office right now," Callen said and he grabbed her and started kissing her again.

That weekend they moved Lori's stuff into Callen's house. Callen didn't have any furniture so they could take all of Lori's furniture. They hired some movers to move the stuff since no one of the other agents knew about them.

"Nice house you got here," Lori said when all the stuff was in its place.

"Thanks. It's even better now that you're here," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"You really didn't have any furniture before?"

"Nope, not really. Just a chair. I didn't really need much more. But I've gotta say that I like it with all this furniture in it. It's homier."

"Yes it is. And we are gonna make it a very nice home, you and me."

They enjoyed a nice dinner tonight and Lori sat down on the couch to watch some TV, Callen walked back in from the kitchen and he noticed a guitar standing in the corner of the room.

"You play the guitar?" Callen asked.

"Yes I do," Lori said.

"That's nice. I didn't know that. Would you play a bit for me please?"

"Sure," Lori said and she got up and she grabbed her guitar. "What would you like to hear?"

"You pick."

Lori played a song a Callen was listening very closely.

"Wow, that was beautiful," Callen said when Lori stopped playing.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Which song was that?"

"Me enamora from Juanes. It thought it was a good song to play right now."

"Yes, very nice choice," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "I didn't know you could play the guitar so beautifully."

"Well there are maybe more things we don't know about each other. But we'll find them out eventually."

"Yes we will."

After that they watched some TV. Well they had the TV on, they didn't really watch it. They were too busy kissing each other. Callen stood up and cradled her in his arms and took her to the bedroom and gently laid her down on the bed and kissed her again.

"I'm really glad you're here," Callen said.

"I'm glad to be here with you too," Lori said.

Callen started kissing her down her neck and slowly made his way down till he reached her stomach. He paused for a moment before continuing to kiss her stomach. Lori looked down at Callen kissing her stomach and she lifted his face up and looked into his beautiful blue eyes and Callen looked into hers. Lori pulled Callen up to her and gave him a kiss.

"I love you," Lori said.

"I love you too," Callen said.

"We should maybe tell the others soon about us and about us having a baby, before they find out."

"We will, I just wonder how they'll react and what Hetty is gonna say. Cus according to her rules we shouldn't be together."

"Ah yeah those rules, why can't two agents be in a relationship together. I mean there's nothing wrong with that right."

"No there isn't anything wrong with that, but I think she made up those rules in order to keep the agents safe and not get distracted by their inter office relationship."

"Well, we won't be distracted on the job right."

"No, we can handle it."

"I just hope Hetty doesn't forbid us from seeing each other after we tell her."

"Even if she did, there's nothing that is gonna keep me away from you and our baby."

…..

Lori was now 12 weeks pregnant; so far she had been able to hide her pregnancy from the rest of the team, although it was not always easy. She was starting to have morning sickness and Callen was acting more protective of her. They needed to tell the others soon, but they were afraid of what the others would think and especially Hetty. Lori was afraid that Hetty would forbid them and maybe even split them up, send one of them away and she knew that Hetty wouldn't send Callen away to another division so she would be the one leaving, but she didn't want that. She wanted to stay here and be with Callen. Callen noticed how she felt and he promised her that he wouldn't let Hetty send her away.

…..

Lori had a doctor's appointment and Callen went with her. Callen and Lori were waiting in the exam room for the doctor. Callen was really nervous, even more nervous than Lori.

"Would you just relax G, you're making me nervous," Lori said.

"Sorry, It's just that I'm not really a big fan of hospitals," Callen said.

"Relax, you're not the patient here, I am."

"I know, but I don't know if that makes me more or less nervous."

"Relax, everything is gonna be fine. Doctor is just gonna examine me and the baby."

"I know, I just want everything to be okay with you two," Callen said as he stood in front of her and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"It's sweet that you worry like this, but don't worry. I'm sure everything is gonna be fine," Lori said and she gave him a kiss.

The doctor came in and examined Lori and the baby. Everything was fine. They were both doing fine. Callen was really relieved to hear that and he couldn't believe he had just seen his little baby on the screen.

…..

Callen and Lori just got home for the weekend after a long and tiring day at the office. Callen and Sam had to go undercover and they barely made it out of there in time, before getting caught in the crossfire. They had dinner and Lori went to take a shower while Callen washed the dishes. Just as Callen put the last plate in the cupboard there was a knock on the door.

"Hetty! What are you doing here?" Callen said when he had opened the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Callen. I came to see how you were doing after today," Hetty said and she stepped inside. "I see you finally have some furniture."

"Yes, I figured it was time to decorate this place a bit."

"Well, that's very good Mr. Callen."

Lori hadn't heard Hetty come in and she came walking out of the bathroom with just a towel on and she almost dropped dead when she walked into the living room and saw Hetty there. Hetty was just as surprised to see her.

"Hello Ms. Carter," Hetty said.

"Hetty! What are you doing here?" Lori said.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing and in a towel no less."

"Right," Lori said and she quickly turned around and walked away to put some clothes on.

Hetty gave Callen a disapproving look but Callen was desperately trying to look away from her.

"Mr. Callen, I thought the rules were very clear and simple," Hetty said as Lori joined them again. "And that goes for you too Ms. Carter."

"Hetty….," Callen started but Hetty signaled him to stop.

"No, Mr. Callen. The rules are very clear: no romantic entanglements between co-workers."

"What makes you think…..?" Callen started again but was cut off by Hetty again.

"You don't fool me Mr. Callen. This stops right now, or I will be forced to split you guys up. Now is that clear?"

Callen and Lori realized it was useless to argue with her at this point and they nodded and Hetty left the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Lori and Callen looked at each other and it took them a moment to realize what just happened.

"Did Hetty really just break us up?" Lori said.

"I believe so," Callen said.

"She can't do that, can she?"

"I believe she just did, but like I said earlier, there's nothing that's gonna keep me away from you. Don't worry, I'm not leaving you two," Callen said and he pulled Lori in for a hug.

"We should tell her about us, about the baby. Maybe then Hetty will let us stay together."

"Maybe you're right. I tell you what; we'll go into the office early on Monday to tell her before the others are there, okay."

"Okay," Lori said and Callen placed a small kiss on her lips.

…..

Callen and Lori arrived at the office and they saw that the other agents weren't there yet. Hetty was already sitting behind her desk. They dropped their bags next to their desks and walked to Hetty's office.

"Did I not make myself clear?" Hetty said.

"You did, but we didn't get a chance to talk to you then so we were hoping you would just hear us out and then hopefully you'll change your mind," Callen said.

"I doubt it, but go ahead."

"Well, where do I start, this isn't just a fling. Lori and I are living together, she moved in with me about a week ago."

"Okay, that's interesting. I just wonder why, because if you had been dating for a lot longer I would have noticed it."

"Well let's just say something changed recently."

"And what would that be?"

Callen looked at Lori and Lori said: "I'm pregnant."

Hetty could not believe her ears.

"You're pregnant, with Mr. Callen's baby?"

"Yes."

"Oh I see. That does changes things. Well I can't control what you do outside this office but I can control what goes on inside this office. Now seeing as this thing between the two of you is more serious than I thought I have no other choice…"

"Hetty…" Callen cut Hetty off.

"I have no other choice but to split the two of you up. I'm sorry Ms. Carter, but I'm afraid I have to transfer you to a different department," Hetty continued.

"Hetty come on, you can't do that."

"Oh yes Mr. Callen I can, with this thing between you I can't have you both working here."

"We can manage Hetty," Lori said.

"Maybe you can, but I'm afraid my decision is final."

"If she goes, I go," Callen said and a shocked look appeared on Hetty's face.

"Mr. Callen…" Hetty started but Callen cut her off.

"I mean it Hetty. She's a damn good agent and a good asset to this team; you can't just send her away."

"Well apparently you leave me no choice, seeing as I will lose two agents if I will. So you better proof me wrong and let me see that you can work together," Hetty said and Callen and Lori returned to the bullpen.

"You really meant that?" Lori said as she sat down behind her desk.

"Meant what?" Callen said.

"That you would go too if she would send me away."

"Yes, I would," Callen said as he rolled over to her with his chair.

"Thank you. But I would never ask that of you, to give up your job for me."

"Well you didn't ask, I said it myself. Cus nothing is more important to me than you right now," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

At that moment the others came in.

"Well hello, good morning to you too," Deeks said.

"Hi guys," Lori said.

"Something going on between you two that we don't know about?"

"We might as well tell them," Lori said and she looked at Callen.

"Tell us what?" Sam said.

"Lori and I are having a baby," Callen said.

They both got shocked faces from their team mates.

"What?! You're serious, a baby?" Deeks said.

"Yep," Lori said.

Before the others could say anything Eric whistled and they went upstairs for the briefing.

After the briefing Callen and Sam went to visit the crime scene. Lori went with Kensi and Deeks to talk to the victim's family.

"So you and Lori are having a baby?" Sam said once they were in the car.

"Yep," Callen said.

"When did this happen?"

"Couple months ago, I bumped into her at a bar, her friend had just cancelled on her so I stayed there to keep her company and afterwards I walked with her to her house cus she didn't live that far away from the bar and then well…"

"You should know better than to get involved with a co-worker G."

"I know. We didn't plan on it. It just happened."

"Does Hetty know?"

"Yes she does."

"And she's okay with you two working together?"

"Not really, but I convinced her we can make this work."

"So you and Lori are in a relationship now?"

"Yes, she moved in with me last week."

"Really? Well I guess I should say congratulations then."

"Thanks."

"Just hope you know what you're getting yourself into, having a baby is a huge thing."

"I know. I did kinda freak out when she told me, which was just before that man had barged into her house. I felt really worried about her then, more than I did before."

"So that was the real reason why you stayed behind at her house?"

"Yep it was. I told her we could make this work, us together. Although I have no idea what we're in for."

"Having a baby changes everything, G. If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for ya."

"Thanks Sam."

Lori was in the car with Kensi and Deeks.

"So you and Callen huh?" Deeks said.

"Yep, got a problem with that?" Lori said.

"No, no problem. I just didn't know you guys were dating and now you're having a baby."

"I know, it all happened very fast. We didn't really plan on this to happen."

"Well, I'm happy for you two," Kensi said.

"Thanks Kens."

"How far along are you exactly?"

"Only 13 weeks."

They managed to wrap up the case pretty quickly. Callen and Sam did get into a fight with some other guys and Callen had a black eye and felt a bit sore.

Callen grunted as he sat down on the couch once they were back at home.

"You okay?" Lori said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've been worse," Callen said.

"Here, maybe this will help," Lori said and she sat next to him and turned him with his back towards her and she started massaging his shoulders.

"That feels good."

"And how about this?" Lori said and she placed soft kisses on his shoulders and neck.

"That feels good too, but not tonight okay."

"Okay," Lori said and she gave him one last kiss on his lips. "I'll get started on dinner."

They enjoyed a nice dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching TV together on the couch before going to bed. In the middle of the night Callen woke up and he noticed that Lori wasn't in bed anymore. He got out to see where she was. He found her in the living room on the couch.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Callen said.

"Hey, I couldn't sleep. So I got up and I found this box. Is this your mom?" Lori said.

"Yes, it is."

"She's beautiful. I'm sorry for what happened to her."

"So am I, come on let's go back to bed," Callen said as he stood up and picked Lori up and carried her to the bedroom. He gave her a kiss and she snuggled in his arms, falling asleep on his chest and he fell asleep a couple minutes later.

The next morning Callen was already up early, Lori was still asleep. He saw the box standing on the table and he put the contents back in the box. As he picked up his moms photo his mind wandered. He thought about his own family and how little he still knew about his past and know he was having a baby. He loved Lori but the thought of becoming a father freaked him out a bit.

He never had a relationship before, at least not one that wasn't for work. They hadn't even been dating for that long and now here he was living together with the woman that was carrying his baby. It was just all happening really fast for him and it freaked him out. He had no idea if he was ready for all of this. He had never pictured himself to be a father, because of who he was and the job that he had. At least Lori understood him and the job that he had.

He put all the stuff back in the box and put it back on the mantle and he turned around to go to the kitchen and there she was standing just a few feet away from him in her PJ's making breakfast.

"Good morning," Callen said.

"Good morning, want some scrambled eggs too?" Lori said.

"No thank you. I'll just get some cereal. You sleep okay?"

"Yeah after I got back into bed I slept fine. You?"

"I slept fine."

"Still feeling sore?"

"Nah, not so much."

"Good," Lori said and she gave him a kiss. "Hope you're not upset with me for looking in that box last night."

"No, don't worry. It's fine."

"Okay. I just had the feeling last night you seemed a bit upset."

"Oh no, I wasn't upset, probably just a bit tired," Callen said and he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her towards him and gave her a nice long kiss. "We should get to work soon."

"Yeah, I'll get dressed once I've finished breakfast."

About 30 minutes later they were on their way to work.

Lori sat behind her desk and opened her laptop and she saw she had an e-mail from her old boss at the FBI in Portland. She opened the e-mail and read that he asked for her assistance in an old case that she handled. She decided to call him to ask for more information.

"Hey Mark, it's Lori. I saw your e-mail pop by. What's going on?" Lori said.

"Hey Lori, we got a hit on this case again. Looks like we're dealing with a copy cat, and since you know the most about this case I was hoping to get your help on this."

"Well, I'm not with the bureau any more. I'm in LA now."

"I know, but I was hoping you would maybe come down here to work on the task force."

"Can I call you back on that?"

"Sure, but as soon as possible please."

"Of course, talk to you later," Lori said and she hung up and went back to the bullpen. "Hey G, can I talk to you for a sec, in private?"

"Sure," Callen said and they walked to the burning room. "What's up, everything okay?"

"I just got a message from my old boss at the bureau over in Portland and he wants me to come and help with a case."

"Over in Portland?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"Don't know."

"Why does he want you?"

"They got a hit on an old case, one that I handle and they would like my help with it."

"Okay. Well if you need to go there to help catch a bad guy you should go."

"You sure?"

"Yeah go, I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll be right here when you get back."

"Why don't you come with me? I'm sure they won't mind an extra set of eyes. And maybe if we have time, we could go to Seattle and I could introduce you to my family, tell them about us and the baby."

"Really?"

"Yeah, if you want to."

"Sure, if you want. I'll ask Hetty if we can leave."

About 2 hours later they were on a flight to Portland and they headed to the FBI office. It took them about 3 days to wrap the case up. Since it was Friday they decided to go to Seattle to visit her parents before going back to LA.

"Your parents live here?" Callen said as they pulled up to a big house.

"Yep," Lori said.

"Nice house. What do your parents do?"

"Dad's a surgeon and mom's an interior designer."

"Nice," Callen said and Lori noticed a little sigh escaping his throat.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I'm good."

"Don't worry. They'll love you. I do," Lori said and she gave him a kiss. "Come on."

They walked up to the door and Lori knocked and waited for the door to be opened.

"Hey mom," Lori said as the door was opened and she gave her mom a hug.

"Hi Lori, I wasn't expecting you," Lori's mom said.

"I was just in Portland on business and I thought I dropped by."

"Oh that's fine. Who's this man her with you?"

"Mom, this is Greg. My boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you ma'am," Callen said as he shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too Greg, come on in."

"Is dad here too?" Lori said.

"No he's still at work, had a late shift. So how are you? You look good."

"I'm good. How's everybody here?"

"Good, good. So Greg, how did you too meet?"

"Lori and I work together," Callen said.

"Ah you work at the bureau too, also an agent?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please, call me Susan. Are you two staying for dinner?"

"If it's no trouble," Lori said.

"No, no trouble at all. How long are you staying here?"

"Well, we don't have to be back in LA till Monday so."

"Why don't you stay here then until Sunday?"

"Oh no, we don't want to impose."

"It's fine, you can have your old room if you want."

"Sure, thanks mom."

They had a nice dinner with her mom and Lori was happy to see that her mom liked Callen.

"Your mom is really nice," Callen said when they were in the bedroom getting ready for bed.

"I'm glad you say that. I could see she liked you too and my dad is gonna like you too I'm sure," Lori said and she wrapped her arms around Callen's waist. "Thank you for coming with me."

"You're welcome. It's nice to meet your family," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"We'll tell them tomorrow when my dad is here about the baby."

"Sure that's fine."

"I just hope they'll like it."

"I'm sure they will," Callen said and he lifted her into the bed.

Lori placed her hands on his cheeks and gave him a kiss.

"I love you," Lori said.

"I love you too," Callen said and he kissed her again.

They kissed for a couple minutes before Lori rolled them over and snuggled into Callen's chest.

"Just be quiet tonight, don't go out and pull apart the toaster and stuff okay," Lori said.

Callen chuckled and said: "Sure, I'll stay right here, holding you in my arms."

"That's nice," Lori said and she lifted her head up and gave him another kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The next morning Callen was already wide awake when Lori woke up. She was still lying on his chest.

"Good morning," Callen said as he noticed Lori was awake too.

"Good morning," Lori said.

"Sleep okay?"

"Yeah I slept fine, you?"

"Fine too."

"Good, come on we should get downstairs see if mom and dad are awake so we can tell them."

They got dressed and walked downstairs. Her parents where already sitting in the living room.

"Hey dad," Lori said when she walked into the living room.

"Hey Lori," her father said and gave her a hug. "It's good to see you again. Who's this?"

"This is Greg, my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend? I wasn't aware you had a boyfriend."

"It's nice to meet you sir," Callen said and they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you too, you'd better take good care of my daughter."

"I will sir."

"Good," her father said and he turned to walk away.

"Wait, there's something else we wanna tell you," Lori said and her father stopped. "We're having a baby."

For a minute it was quiet and Lori could see her father's eyes widening.

"Well congratulations sweetie," her mom said and she gave Lori and hug. "And congratulations to you too Greg." And she gave Callen a hug too. "Richard, shouldn't you congratulate them too?"

"Congratulate them on what?" Lori's father said.

"Richard! She's your daughter and that's your grandchild she's carrying."

"We don't see her for a long time and suddenly she shows up her with her boyfriend who we've never met and now she's also pregnant. That just doesn't sound like the daughter we've raised."

"I thought you would be happy for us, dad," Lori said and she stormed upstairs to her room.

Callen gave him an angry look and followed Lori upstairs where he found her sitting on the bed crying. Callen sat next to her on the bed and put his arms around her and held her close.

"It's okay sweetie," Callen said.

"Did he really need to react this way?" Lori said.

"I'm sure he'll turn around."

Callen kept holding Lori close to him trying to calm her down until her father was standing in the doorway.

"Could I talk to her for a sec?" Lori's father said.

"Sure," Callen said and he stood up from the bed walking out of the room. "Don't hurt her, you hear me."

"I won't."

"What do you want, dad?" Lori said.

"I'm sorry about earlier sweetie. It just came as a bit of a surprise."

"I know, for me too. But we're really happy together and it would mean a lot to me if you were happy about this too."

"Of course I'm happy for you too sweetie. I guess part of me still sees you as my little girl, but you're all grown up now and as long as you are happy I'm happy too."

"Thanks dad," Lori said and she gave him a hug.

They stayed there for the rest of the weekend and went home on Sunday afternoon. They walked into the house and Callen closed the door behind them but as soon as he had closed Lori pushed him against the door and planted a very passionate kiss on his lips.

About a minute later they broke apart but before Callen could say anything Lori pulled him towards the bedroom and she pushed him down on the bed and jumped on top of him and she kissed him again. Callen ran his hands through her hair and down her back. It didn't take them long to get their clothes off. Callen rolled her on her back while kissing her and his hand ran over her stomach and he could already feel a little bump there, he felt Lori placing her hand on top of his and he stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes.

"I love you," Callen said.

"I love you too," Lori said and she kissed him again and they made love.

…..

Callen and Sam were sitting in the bullpen, they just came back from the boatshed. Lori, Kensi and Deeks were out questioning a suspect. Sam noticed Callen staring at his computer screen.

"You okay G?" Sam said.

"Huh?" Callen said.

"I asked if you were okay."

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure? Cus you seemed to be staring at your computer screen like something was bothering you."

"I'm fine," Callen said but Sam didn't buy it.

"Everything okay between you and Lori?"

"Yeah everything is fine."

"And with you and being a father?"

"I'm fine Sam."

"It only natural to be scared G. I was too when I became a father."

"Really?"

"Yeah, having a baby is a huge thing. I mean you're gonna be responsible for a little human being."

"I love Lori but I'm not sure if I'm ready to be a father. I've been on my own most of my life and now I don't have just Lori but also a baby."

"Have you talked to Lori about this?"

"No, I haven't. I don't know how."

"Maybe you should. She'll understand I'm sure."

…

Lori was now 14 weeks pregnant and she had another doctor's appointment after work. Callen also went with her.

"Let's go see what the little baby is up to," the doctor said and Lori rolled her shirt up and the doctor put the device on her stomach.

Callen and Lori saw the little baby on the screen.

"Wait a minute," the doctor said.

"Is everything okay doctor?" Lori said.

"I see another heartbeat."

"Another heartbeat, as in two heartbeats?"

"Yes, looks like you're having twins."

Callen and Lori looked at each other with a shocked look on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

They drove home. Callen didn't say anything during the ride home. They went inside and Callen went to the fridge to get a beer.

"You okay G?" Lori asked.

"I don't know," Callen said and he took a sip of his beer. "We just found out that we're not having one baby but two babies. I was still getting used to becoming a father and that was just when I thought it was one. But now it's two. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"Yeah, I know. It's another huge change. But I'm sure we can handle it together."

"It's just so many changes lately. First I learned that you're pregnant, next thing I knew we're living together and now we're having twins. It's just…. I don't know," Callen said and he leaned against the kitchen counter.

"I get that this is all happening really fast and having twins is a huge thing. But I'm sure we can handle it together," Lori said and she put her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss and Callen wrapped his arms around her waist.

"How can you be so calm right now? Aren't you scared or something?"

"Of course I'm scared. Scared about what's gonna happen next, scared about how it's gonna be like when the babies are here. I have no idea what that's gonna be like. But I know that I love you and that we can handle this together."

"That's makes one of us."

"You're not sure we can handle this?"

"I don't know. I love you, but this is all so new to me. I've been alone most of my life. I've never had any real family and I've never been in a real relationship like this. But now I have you, and I'm really grateful for that don't get me wrong."

"But…."

"But I have no idea if I'm gonna be any good at being a father and that was just when I thought we were having one baby. But now we're having two."

"Oh honey," Lori said and she gave him a kiss. "I had no idea you felt this way."

"Don't get me wrong. I love you and our babies, but I'm just freaking out about this whole becoming a father thing."

"Hey, don't worry. We can handle this together. And we still have about 6 months left before the babies are here, so we have some time to figure out how to be parents. We can handle this together honey, I'm sure."

"I hope you're right honey."

"I'm sure I'm right," Lori said and she gave him another kiss and hugged him. "I love you."

"I love you too."

That night Callen couldn't sleep. A lot of thoughts were going through his mind. He looked next to him and saw Lori asleep. He still couldn't believe that she was actually pregnant with twins. He had no idea if he was ready for that. He got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to get some tea and he saw the latest ultrasound picture hanging on the fridge. He grabbed it from the fridge and just looked at it and there he saw the proof that Lori was pregnant with two babies, his two babies. His mind was still processing all this new information. He needed to clear his head and because he didn't want to wake up Lori he decided to go for a run, even though it was the middle of the night.

Callen quietly put on some running clothes and left the house. He ran for a couple of miles until he reached the beach. He walked up the peer and just stared out into the ocean, lost in his thoughts. Was he ready to be a father of twins? Were he and Lori as a couple ready for two babies?

Lori had woken up and she felt nauseous and she had to throw up. She noticed that Callen wasn't in bed any more. She looked around the house trying to find him.

"G?" Lori called but there was no answer and she couldn't find him anywhere.

She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Callen's number but she heard the phone ringing in the bedroom. She wondered where he had gone to as she sat down on the couch. She knew she couldn't sleep until he was back at home again or until she knew where he was.

Callen had lost track of time and he decided to go back home after staring at the ocean for about half an hour.

"G, thank god," Lori said as Callen walked back into the house and threw herself in his arms.

"Hey, it's okay. What's going on?" Callen said.

"I woke up and I couldn't find you anywhere and I called your cell but you didn't have it with you and I had no idea where you were. I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry honey. I just went for a run."

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep and I just had to clear my head. I'm sorry I worried you. I'm just gonna hop in the shower real quick and they I'll join you back in bed," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her cheek and he walked to the bathroom and Lori walked back to the bedroom.

Once Callen was back in bed Lori crawled against him and put her head on his chest.

"Is everything okay with you, baby?" Lori said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry," Callen said.

"If there's anything bothering you, you can always talk to me. I'm here for you, you're not alone anymore."

"I know sweetie, but I'm fine. Trust me. Let's just go back to sleep okay. Goodnight," Callen said and gave her a kiss on her head.

"Goodnight."

They had a weekend break so Lori slept in the next day. Callen was already awake and he was shooting some hoops in the back yard. Lori got dressed and went outside as well.

"Morning G," Lori said.

"Morning Lori. Sleep okay? I hope I didn't wake you," Callen said.

"Yeah I slept fine. Fell right asleep after crawling back into bed and no you didn't wake me."

"Okay good."

"Are you sure everything is okay with you?"

"Yes Lori, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"It's just that you seemed a bit freaked out yesterday after the doctor's appointment and then you went on a run in the middle of the night. I know we talked about it yesterday, but I'm just worried. I just wanna know if you're really okay with this."

"Lori," Callen said as he put his arms around her. "I am okay with this, us living together and with you being pregnant, I'm just a bit scared about this whole thing. But I am okay with it, don't you worry about that."

"Okay good," Lori said and she kissed him. "If you ever wanna talk about anything, I'm here for you. You can talk to me. You don't have to keep it bottled up."

"I know and I will," Callen said and he wanted to kiss Lori again.

"Hold that thought for a minute," Lori said and she ran inside to the bathroom and threw up. She splashed some water in her face and rinsed out her mouth.

She found Callen in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Sorry about that," Lori said.

"It's okay. You okay?" Callen said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little nauseous, gonna eat some crackers for breakfast."

"You sure you don't want anything else? I can whip something up for you."

"Thanks sweetie, but I'm good."

"Okay, then come here," Callen said and he pulled her towards her and kissed her.

…..

"Everything okay, G?" Sam said as they were training together.

"Yeah, I'm good. Why do you ask?" Callen said.

"Your mind seems to be somewhere else."

"I'm fine, just got a lot going on."

"Yeah, I can imagine that, with you and Lori and the baby."

"Make that babies."

"Babies?"

"Yeah, Friday we found out that Lori is pregnant with twins."

"Twins? Really? Whoa. That's just…. Wow. You okay about that?"

"I don't know. I found it scary enough having just one, but now we're having two. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"How does Lori feel about it?"

"She seemed okay with it. She's much calmer about this than I am."

"Did you talk to Lori about this?"

"Yes I did. She said that we would be able to handle it."

"But you're not sure?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

"Give it some time G. You'll get used to the idea of being a father and I'm sure that from the moment you see your beautiful babies you'll love them and you'll learn how to be a father quickly. And if you ever need any advice, I'm here for you."

"Thanks Sam."

They had a pretty quiet day at work so they could work on their paperwork and catch up on some old cases. Kensi and Deeks had gone to do some target practice and Callen had just gone upstairs to ask Eric something.

"Hey Sam, can I ask you something?" Lori said.

"Sure, what's up?" Sam said.

"It's about G."

"Everything okay between you two?"

"Yeah, we're fine. I'm just a bit worried about him."

"He's fine. He's just a little bit scared about becoming a father, especially now you're having twins."

"He told you about that?"

"Yeah he did."

"I'm just worried about him, he did freak out a little Friday after we found out."

"Just give him some time, he'll be fine. He loves you, I'm sure of that. Just give him some time."

"I will."

Lori couldn't sleep that night. She had woken up by all the things Callen was doing. She heard him rumbling in the kitchen and practicing foreign languages. Lori pulled the sheets over her head, trying to soften the noises, but that didn't work. Angrily she threw the sheets away and got out. She was tired and she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't because Callen was making too much noise.

"G, could you keep quiet in here, I'm trying to sleep," Lori said in a bit of an angry tone and she went back to bed.

"Sure, sorry," Callen said.

About an hour later Callen went back to bed. Lori had just fallen asleep again, but she woke up again when Callen crawled into bed and against her.

"Not tonight G, I wanna sleep," Lori said and she threw his arm away and turned around.

The next morning when Lori woke up Callen was already up and was making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Morning G," Lori said.

"Morning Lori," Callen said.

"Listen sorry about last night if I reacted a bit angry. I was just really tired and all these hormones running through my body didn't really help either. Especially lately they are really annoying me."

"It's okay honey, I'm sorry that I kept you up. I'll be quieter next time, I promise," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"Okay good. Thank you. I'm just gonna get dressed."

"Sure, breakfast will be ready in about 5 minutes."

"It will just take a minute."

15 minutes later Lori wasn't back in the kitchen yet.

"Lori, breakfast is ready," Callen said and he walked into the bedroom and saw almost every piece of Lori's clothes lying on the bed.

"Argh, not one my pants fit me anymore," Lori said and she threw another pair of pants on the bed. "I really need to get some new clothes."

"Yeah, I can see that your belly is already growing a bit," Callen said and he stood behind her and placed his hands on her stomach.

"Yeah I know," Lori said and she sat down on the bed.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just that my body is going through so many changes lately. It's just driving me nuts sometimes," Lori said and she let herself fall down backwards into the pile of clothes.

"I can understand that. Come on, let's get you dressed, cus we have to leave for work soon," Callen said as he pulled her up.

"Dressed with what? None of my pants fit."

"You can borrow one of mine."

"You don't mind?"

"Nah, it's fine," Callen said and he grabbed a pair of pants from his clothes. "Here you go."

"Thanks. I'll be right there."

Lori finished getting dressed and they finished their breakfast and they went to work.

"Morning," Callen said as they walked in the bullpen.

"Morning," the others responded.

"Ms. Carter, a moment please?" Hetty called from her office and Lori walked to her office.

"What's up Hetty?" Lori said.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit nauseous sometimes."

"Okay. And from what I understand you're having twins."

"Yes that's correct."

"How's Mr. Callen?"

"A bit scared about becoming a father, especially now we're having twins. But he's fine."

"Just give him some time. He's been alone most of his life, never had any real family."

"I know. We talked about that."

"But I can see that he loves you and that you love him. I just hope that this doesn't affect your work here."

"We'll do our best not to let it affect our work."

"Okay good. That was all."

"Okay," Lori said and she walked back to the bullpen.

"Everything okay?" Callen asked as Lori sat down at her desk.

"Yeah everything's fine."

"What did Hetty want?"

"She just wanted to know how I was doing."

"Ah okay."

Eric whistled and they went upstairs and went to work on the case.

At the end of the day Hetty called Callen into her office for an operational debrief.

"How are you doing, Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked once the debrief was over.

"I'm fine," Callen said.

"How are you and Ms. Carter?"

"We're fine."

"You sure? I heard you were having twins. It's only natural to be scared about becoming a father."

"Yeah, I am a bit scared. I have no idea if I'm ready to be a father, and then also of twins."

"I really think you would make an excellent father Mr. Callen. Just love those beautiful babies of yours and the rest will follow."

"You really think I'll make a good father?"

"Yes I do, Mr. Callen. You and Ms. Carter are gonna make wonderful parents."

"Thank you Hetty, I hope you're right. Goodnight Hetty," Callen said and he got up.

"Goodnight Mr. Callen. Just one thing, keep you private business at home. I don't want this to interfere with your work here."

"I will Hetty and it won't."

…

"You okay?" Callen said as Lori came walking out of the bathroom and back into the living room.

"Yeah, I'm good," Lori said.

"Didn't sound like that."

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little nauseous," Lori said as she sat down on the couch and she lay down with her head on Callen's lap. "It's all part of being pregnant."

"That's not nice. Anything else bothering you?"

"Nah, not so much yet. But I'm sure there will be other things that will bother me during this pregnancy."

"Well if there's anything I can help you with, anything at all, just let me know. I'm here for you," Callen said as his hand was stroking through her hair.

"Thanks sweetie."

"Just a question honey, how long are you planning to go into the field with us?"

"Uhm don't know. I like to go with you guys as long as possible, depends on how I'm feeling."

"Yeah okay, but I don't think it's wise for you to go with us when we're taking down someone, with bullets flying everywhere."

"I know, I wasn't planning on doing that when I'm further along. But as long as I can I would like to go with you guys."

"Just as long you'll be careful and stay close to me. I don't wanna risk you walking into a bullet or something."

"I promise," Lori said and she sat up on his lap and kissed him.

"Okay then," Callen said and he kissed her again and stood up and carried her to the bedroom and he laid her down on the bed and he lay down next to her. They made love.

….

"Got a new case guys," Eric called from the top of the stairs after he whistled and the agents went upstairs.

Eric and Nell explained the case to them and the team went to work. After checking the crime scene, Callen, Sam and Lori went to the boatshed to speak with someone from the Marine Corps. Kensi and Deeks went to talk to the victim's family.

After about 6 hours of investigating they had come up with a good solid lead. They went to the armory to gear up and they left the office.

20 minutes later they were there and Callen explained the plan to the team.

"Kensi, Deeks, you guys take the back. We'll cover the front," Callen said.

"Got it," Kensi said and they got out of the car and moved into position.

"Stay close Lori."

"Got it. I will," Lori said.

"Move in on my count. 3, 2, 1."

They moved in the building and cleared it room by room.

"Federal agents! Hold it right there," Sam yelled.

They quickly had to dodge some bullets and they returned fire.

"Kens, we've got two shooters in the south-east corner," Callen said.

"Copy that, we're heading your way," Kensi said.

"Lori, you okay?" Callen said when he didn't see her.

"I'm good," Lori said. She was ducked away behind some crates a couple feet further.

Kensi and Deeks had come in from the other side and bullets were flying everywhere.

"Aaahhh," Lori screamed as a bullet hit her.

"Lori! You okay?" Callen said.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sam, cover me," Callen said and Callen made his way over to Lori. "Lori, you okay? Where are you hit?"

"My shoulder," Lori cried out.

"It's okay Lori, just stay calm. Bullet just grazed your arm, it's not that bad," Callen said and he placed his hand over her bullet wound to stop the bleeding and Lori gasped as he did so. "It's okay honey. I'm here."

Sam, Kensi and Deeks had managed to shoot the guys. They were all dead.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he went to check on Lori and Callen.

"Yeah, it's just my shoulder and just a graze," Lori said.

"Come on, let's get you patched up," Callen said as he helped her up.

They dropped their gear off at the office and Callen took Lori to the ER to get her checked out. Luckily the bullet didn't hit anything major. The doctor patched the wound up and Lori could go home again.

"Are you sure you're okay honey?" Callen said.

"I'm fine baby, it was just my shoulder that got hurt," Lori said.

"You do realize that this was the last time you went out in the field with us."

"Yeah maybe it's not such a good idea anymore when bullets are flying everywhere."

"This time it was just your shoulder and just a graze, but what if next time it's worse. I don't wanna lose you or our babies," Callen said as he hugged her and put his hand on her stomach.

"But I'm a special agent, it's my job."

"I know and you're very good at your job, but I can't have you running around when bullets are flying everywhere. You're pregnant now. And you can still do your job but just not that much field work anymore."

"I know and I'll stay at the office. I'll just do some research or paperwork and leave the heavy stuff to you guys."

"Good. Maybe you can still come out into the field with us when we like go to the boatshed or something, when I'm sure there's no risk of you getting hurt," Callen said and he kissed Lori. "I love you and I'm glad that you're okay. You scared me when I heard you scream."

"I love you too and I'm sorry I scared you," Lori said and she gave Callen another kiss and she laid her head on Callen's shoulder and Callen wrapped his arms around her pulling her even closer to him.

"Aah."

"What honey? What's wrong?"

"It's okay. You were just holding me a little too tight, my shoulder just hurts a little."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I'm just glad that you're okay. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know honey."

…..

It was Saturday so Lori could sleep in. It was about 10am when she came out of her bed.

"Good morning," Lori said as she walked into the living room where Callen was sitting on the couch.

"Good morning sleepy head," Callen said.

"Yeah, I guess that I needed it," Lori said as she sat down next to Callen.

"It's fine honey," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "And good morning to you too," Callen said and he kissed her stomach.

"Hey G, do you wanna go to the store today, you know get some stuff for the babies?"

"Stuff like what?"

"You know, stuff for the babies. Cribs, clothes, closet, changing table, stuff like that."

"Sure, but we have some time before the babies are here. You're only 16 weeks."

"I know, but I would just like to have the room ready and I've heard that there's usually a couple of weeks delivery time on the furniture and such."

"Sure, we'll go later today. But first…." Callen said and he kissed her and pushed her down on the couch.

They spend a couple minutes lying there on the couch kissing until Lori pushed him away and got up and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

"You okay honey?" Callen said as he walked in the bathroom.

"Yeah I'm good. It's just the mornings. I feel really nauseous sometimes."

"Sorry honey. I hope this throwing up thing doesn't last much longer."

"Me too, but the doctor said it was possible to feel nauseous throughout the entire pregnancy."

"I hope not for you and if there's anything I can do to make you feel better just say the word okay."

"I will, thanks honey."

"You're welcome," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

Lori got dressed and had some breakfast and around 2pm Callen and Lori went to the baby store to get some stuff.

About 2 hours later they were back home. They had bought a lot of stuff.

"I didn't know all this stuff was so expensive," Callen said.

"Yeah, it's pretty pricey and since we're having twins we need two of everything," Lori said.

"Yes true, but they are gonna have a wonderful room."

"Yes they will. You sure you don't want me to help you with it?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides it's not good for you to do."

"G."

"What?"

"You don't have to mother me all the time. You don't need to treat me like some sick old lady who can't take care of herself. I'm perfectly capable to do some things on my own. So you can stop treating me like this!" Lori said and she walked to the kitchen and was resting with her hands on the kitchen counter when Callen walked in a couple seconds later. "I'm sorry honey."

"It's okay baby."

"I didn't mean it like that. I… It's really sweet the way you take care of me and I really appreciate it. It's just sometimes it's…."

"Too much?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I'm sorry honey. I'll try to rain it in a bit. It's just I want to make sure you're okay and that our little babies are okay."

"I know G and I love you for that, but I'm fine. Everything is fine. If I need something or if something's wrong I will tell you okay."

"Okay, come here," Callen said and he pulled Lori towards him for a hug and he kissed her head. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lori said and she snuggled her head into Callen's chest.

They stood there for a little while just hugging each other until Callen picked her up and lay down on the couch with her on top of him. Callen just held her in his arms and Lori snuggled into his chest. They just lay there for a couple of hours and Callen noticed that Lori had fallen asleep. He didn't move, he just lay there, he was afraid he would wake her if he got up.

30 minutes later Lori started to wake up again.

"Hey Lori," Callen said.

"Hey, how long was I asleep?"

"Just about an hour. You just stay here for a little while okay. I'll go make dinner," Callen said and he got up and Lori lay back down on the couch again.

They had a nice dinner and they stayed up for a couple more hours just watching TV before going to bed.

"I'm really tired lately," Lori said as she got into bed.

"Maybe you should ask the doctor if that's normal," Callen said as he got into bed too.

"Yeah maybe I will on the next appointment. But I've read it's normal to feel tired, but maybe I will ask just to make sure."

"When's your next appointment?"

"Tuesday, before work, 8 o'clock."

"Alright, I will go with you. Goodnight honey."

"Goodnight sweetie," Lori said and Callen gave her a kiss and lay down next to her.

….

That Tuesday Lori had another doctor's appointment. The doctor checked her and the babies. Everything was fine with them. He took some blood to run some standard tests on. But the doctor told her not that to worry, everything was fine.

"I'm glad everything's okay with you. I can't help but worry about you," Callen said when they were in the car on the way to work.

"I know me too and it's really sweet that you worry about me."

"Well, it are my little babies that you are carrying there so," Callen said that and he thought to himself how crazy that sounded 'his little babies'.

"Good morning," Lori said as they walked into the bullpen.

"Morning," the others replied.

"Well Lori, I can see you're already starting to show a bit," Sam said.

"Yeah I know," Lori said as she looked down to her stomach.

"Everything okay so far?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah it's okay so far. Just a little bit nauseous in the mornings and sometimes really tired but other than that everything is fine."

"Good to hear."

Just as soon Callen and Lori sat down Eric whistled and they went upstairs.

"What have we got Eric?" Callen asked as they walked into OPS.

"NCIS Special Agent Rick Morgan was found dead earlier this morning," Eric said. "He was working for the NCIS office in Mexico."

"Was he killed here or in Mexico?" Callen said.

"He was found dead in his rental house in Mexico."

"Looks like we're going to Mexico."

"Yes, Mr. Callen that's right," Hetty said as she walked into OPS. "I briefed the NCIS office in Mexico and they'll be expecting you, expect for you Ms. Carter. You're staying here."

"Fine," Lori said.

"Chopper will be here in 30 minutes to take you to Coronado."

"Okay, Eric, Nell see what you can find out about Agent Morgan," Callen said. "Lori, you look into the case he was working on and find out as much as you can about the people he was tracking."

"Will do," Lori said and they walked downstairs.

The other agents gathered their stuff to take with them and Lori sat down behind her desk, going to work on her laptop.

"Chopper is here. Off you go," Hetty said.

They all got up and walked outside except for Callen.

"I'll see you later Lori," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

"See ya. Be careful out there," Lori said.

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Let us know when you find something."

"I will," Lori said and Callen walked outside as well.

3 hours later they team arrived at the NCIS office in Mexico City and they went to work trying to solve the case.

Lori sat in the bullpen working behind her laptop. She rather would have gone with the team to Mexico, but she understood that it wasn't safe enough for her. So she was doing research back at the office.

The team needed to stay in Mexico for the night. They hadn't solved the case yet. The next day Lori updated the team with the information she had found and by the end of the day they had managed to solve the case and they flew back to LA.

It was around 2am when Callen walked into his house. Callen quietly walked into the house and to the bedroom where he found Lori asleep in bed. He quietly changed his clothes and crawled into bed against Lori and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey G," Lori said half asleep.

"Hey Lori, I'm back again."

"Uh uh."

"Goodnight Lori."

"Night," Lori said and Callen gave her another kiss on her cheek and crawled close against her with his arm around her.

…..

In his free time Callen went to work on the baby room. They had picked out green paint for the walls and Callen was painting the walls. As he was working on the baby room he realized that this was real, that this was really happening. He was really becoming a father and he wasn't having one baby but two babies. The thought of becoming a father still scared him, but he was starting to get used to the idea. And he was happy to have someone in his life that he loved and who loved him, although he never imagined his life would be like this at this moment. Already living together so soon after they started dating, with twins on the way no less. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Lori calling.

"G," Lori said as she walked into the room. "Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes."

"Alright, I'll be right there."

"Well, I see the room is coming along nicely."

"Yeah, just about finished with this wall and then the other walls."

"It's gonna look really nice, I'm sure."

"I'll be right there okay," Callen said as he walked up to Lori and gave her a kiss.

"Okay," Lori said and she gave Callen another kiss.

"Woops sorry honey, I'm messing paint in your hair with my hands."

"It's okay. Had to go shower anyway."

"Okay, I'll be right there, just finish this part."

They had a nice dinner and Callen went to finish the last part of the wall while Lori washed the dishes.

"So, one wall is finished," Callen said as he walked into the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go take a shower."

"You want me to join you?" Lori said with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Sure," Callen said and he pulled Lori with him to the bathroom.

They took their clothes off and stepped under the shower and Lori wrapped her arms around Callen's neck and kissed him. Callen wrapped his arms around her back. His hands touched her bare body and one of his hands ran down her body to the front and he touched her stomach. He could clearly feel her baby bump already. He felt Lori placing her hand on top of his hand as they continued to kiss. They kissed for a couple minutes and afterwards they just stood there hugging each other while getting showered.

Afterwards they already put there PJ's on and lay down on the bed to watch some TV. They sat up against the head end and Lori crawled close against Callen and Callen put his arms around her.

"Is everything okay with you honey?" Lori asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, I just wanna know how you are doing and if you're still a little freaked out about everything."

"That's sweet of you. I'm okay. I'm really starting to get used to it. I'm still a bit scared about becoming a father, but I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"Yes we will," Lori said as she turned around and sat on his lap. "I love you."

"I love you too," Callen said and Lori kissed him.

Callen kissed her back and turned her around on her back. They made love.

…..

Lori was playing on her guitar as Callen was making dinner.

"G, come here," Lori called from the living room.

"What is it Lori?" Callen said as he walked into the living room.

"Come feel this."

Callen walked over to the couch and Lori grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach and Lori started playing on her guitar again. Callen felt the babies moving in her stomach.

"Wow, that's amazing," Callen said with a smile on his face. "I guess the babies like you playing the guitar."

"Yeah I guess they do."

"Doesn't it feel weird, feeling them move inside your stomach?"

"Yeah it does feel a little weird. It's also weird when you think that there are two little babies growing inside of me."

"Yeah it does sound weird, but it's also wonderful," Callen said and he kissed her stomach. "I should go check on dinner."

The next day they went to work and Callen and Sam were on their way to talk to a suspect.

"So, how are you and Lori doing?" Sam asked.

"We're doing fine. Lori is doing fine and the babies are doing fine so everything is good."

"Good to hear."

"And yesterday I felt the babies moving. That was really weird to feel but also very nice."

"Yeah, it's very nice to feel that. Look at you, you're starting to become more like father."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get used to it. Not so freaked out any more, just a little bit scared of how it's gonna be like once the babies are here."

"You'll do fine G. I can really see you love Lori and that she loves you."

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing."

"I'm happy for you G. That you finally found someone."

"Thanks Sam, me too."

….

"New case guys," Eric said when he had whistled and the agents followed him upstairs.

"What have we got Eric?" Callen said.

"Last night a marine team invaded the home of a Columbian drug cartel but all 4 members of the marine team were killed."

"They walked into an ambush?"

"Looks that way."

"Who where in the team?" Sam asked.

"Uhm, Commander John Henson, PO Laura Rodriguez, Lt. Danny Mitchell and PO Kevin Collins," Nell said as she put the pictures up on the screen.

"Do any of them have any next of kin?" Callen asked.

"Yes, addresses are already on your phone," Eric said.

"And the Captain is waiting in the boatshed to brief you on this mission," Hetty said.

"Thanks. Kensi, Deeks, you guys go talk to the families. We'll go to the boatshed to talk to the captain," Callen said and the team left. Lori went with Callen and Sam to the boatshed.

"Captain Reeves?" Callen said as he entered the boatshed.

"Yes, you must be with NCIS?" Reeves said.

"Yes, Agent Callen, Agent Hanna and Agent Carter. Thank you for coming here."

"No problem, anything I can do to help."

"Do you have any reason to believe that the mission might have been compromised?" Sam asked.

"No, everything was fine with the mission. It went as normal as the other times. If I thought the mission had been compromised I wouldn't have sent my people in."

"How many people knew about this mission?" Lori asked.

"Just myself, the team and a couple of intelligence analysts."

"We're gonna need their names."

"Of course, I'll send you everything we have on this mission," Reeves said and he grabbed his laptop and he sent everything to the NCIS server.

"Do you think any of them could have leaked the information?" Lori asked.

"No, they are all very good people. I've worked with them for a long time. They would never do something like that."

"Alright, thank you for your time. We appreciate the help. We'll let you know if we have something more," Callen said.

"You're welcome, just find out if someone set my people up or if it was just bad luck."

"We'll do," Callen said and the captain left and the three agents went back to the office.

Callen called Eric on the way saying that the information provided by Captain Reeves was on the server. 15 minutes later they were back at the office followed by Kensi and Deeks half our later.

"Did you guys get anything from the family?" Callen asked as they walked back in the bullpen.

"Nothing other than grief," Deeks said.

"How did you guys do with the captain?" Kensi asked.

"He gave us the information and Eric and Nell are looking through that right now," Callen said.

A couple hours later they had managed to come up with a good suspect. They found information that suggested that one of the Intelligence analysts had leaked the information to the cartel. Callen and Sam went to her house. Sam knocked on the door but there was no answer.

Sam knocked again. "Federal agents! Open up!"

They heard some loud noises coming from inside. Callen and Sam grabbed their guns and Sam kicked the door in. They quickly had to dodge some bullets. They returned fire. Bullets were flying everywhere. Sam managed to shoot her and he cleared her of her gun and checked for a pulse. She was dead.

"G, you good?" Sam called but there was no answer.

Sam looked in the direction where Callen was shooting from and he saw his partner lying on the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

"G!" Sam said and he went to check on his partner.

"Sam," Callen grunted.

"It's okay buddy," Sam said and he saw that Callen had been shot in his abdomen.

Sam quickly took his phone and called Eric for an ambulance.

Eric called for the ambulance and made his way downstairs to inform Hetty what was going on.

"Hetty, we have a problem," Eric said as he walked towards Hetty's office.

"What is it, Mr. Beale?" Hetty said.

"Callen has been shot."

Lori heard the conversation. "What?!" Lori said and she walked towards Hetty's office, followed by Deeks and Kensi. "How bad is it?"

"Don't know exactly. Sam said he was hit in his stomach. He's on the way to the hospital now."

Lori didn't think twice and she grabbed her keys and jacket and drove to the hospital. She went up to the surgical floor where she found Sam in the waiting room.

"Sam, how is he?" Lori said.

"Don't know yet, he's in surgery now," Sam said.

"How bad was it?"

"He was shot one time in his abdomen. He has lost some blood, but don't worry. G's though, he'll pull through."

"Let's hope you're right," Lori said and she sat down next to Sam.

About an hour later Callen was out of surgery and his doctor came to talk to Sam and Lori.

"How is he doctor?" Sam said.

"We managed to recover the bullet and luckily it didn't hit any major organs. We repaired the damage that the bullet did and gave him some extra blood, cus he lost some blood. But he should be fine," the doctor said.

"Thank god," Lori said. "Can we see him?'

"Of course, right this way."

The doctor lead them to Callen's room and they saw Callen lying on the bed, he was still unconscious.

"He should wake up soon," the doctor said and his pager went off. "Excuse me."

Lori walked over to his bed and grabbed his hand and gave him a kiss on his head. When she did that she saw his eyes were starting to open.

"Hey G," Lori said and she saw his blue eyes staring back at her.

"Hey," Callen mumbled back.

"It's okay G, you're in the hospital. You got shot, but the doctor said you should be fine."

"Welcome back partner," Sam said as he squeezed his partner's shoulder.

"Thank Sam and thanks for taking me to the hospital."

"No problem G."

Callen felt that his mouth was dry and he saw the can of water standing on his bedside table.

"Could you….?" Callen said and he pointed at the can.

"Sure," Lori said and she poured him a glass of water. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

A little later Sam's phone rang. "Yeah Hetty."

"How's Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked.

"He's gonna be fine. He's already awake."

"Good to hear. We need you back at the office. The case isn't over yet."

"Alright, be right there," Sam said and he hung up the phone. "I've gotta get back to the office."

"Go Sam, we'll be alright," Lori said.

After Sam had left Lori sat down on the bed holding Callen's hand.

"You okay honey?" Callen asked as he moved some of her hair from her face.

"Yeah I'm good. I'm just glad that you're okay. When Eric told me you got shot I got worried."

"I'm fine Lori. There's no need to worry."

"It's just that I won't know what I would do if something…." Lori started and tears appeared in her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm still here and I'm not leaving you. Don't you worry about that," Callen said and Lori laid her head down on his shoulder and Callen wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay Lori. I'm here."

A day later Callen was released from the hospital. He still had a week off to recuperate.

"Now you be a good boy today when I'm at work. Don't try to do too much already, okay," Lori said.

"I won't, you just be careful today."

"I will."

"You're not going out in the field with Sam while I'm not there, right?"

"No, I won't. I'm staying in the office."

"Okay good. Cus I won't be there to protect you."

"I know sweetie. I'll be fine. I promise," Lori said and she kissed Callen. "I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Callen hated sitting at home and not being able to go to work. Especially since Lori was at work. Now he wasn't there to make sure she was okay and that she wasn't going out in the field and getting hurt.

Lori had just sat down at her desk when her cell phone rang.

"Hey G," Lori said as she answered the phone.

"Hey Lori, did you get to work alright?" Callen said.

"Yes G, everything is fine."

"Okay good. Just take it easy today okay. Don't do anything crazy that might get you hurt."

"I won't. You take it easy too. Don't try to do too much already."

"I won't, promise."

"Alright, I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Lori hung up the phone and started working on her paperwork and finishing up some reports. A few minutes later Sam came walking in.

"Morning," Sam said.

"Morning," Lori said.

"How's G?"

"He says he's fine. I tried to tell him to take it easy today. Don't know if he listened."

"Yeah he can be pretty stubborn at some times. Especially when he's home on sick leave or when Hetty takes him off a case."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

They had a pretty quiet day at work. Around noon Lori's phone rang again. She looked at the display. It was Callen again.

"Hey G."

"Hey Lori, how's it going?"

"Everything's fine. No new cases yet so just catching up on paperwork."

"Okay good. And you're feeling okay, not nauseous or anything?"

"I'm fine G."

"Okay. You're drinking and eating enough?"

"Argh," Lori sighed and she hung up the phone and tossed it on her desk.

"Everything okay Lori?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah it's fine. G is just annoying me a little."

Sam chuckled as Lori said those words. He knew his partner all too well and that he didn't like sitting at home and not doing anything.

A few minutes later Callen called again. Lori saw his name flashing on the display again and she pressed the ignore button. Callen called again. Lori figured that he wasn't going to stop so she picked up.

"What is it G?"

"Did you just hung up on me and then reject my call?"

"Sorry, I was just busy with something. Everything is fine G. Sorry but I have to go. Eric is calling with something new. See ya," Lori said and she hung up the phone.

Sam looked up the stairs and he didn't see anybody there.

"Everything okay Lori?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, it's fine."

"You just lied to G to hang up the phone."

"I know," Lori sighed. "He's just annoying today and I hung up before I blew up at him, I can't trust myself sometimes with all these hormones running wild. The slightest thing can set me off."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sam said with a little smile.

Around 5pm everybody went home again. Lori walked into the house and found Callen sitting on the couch.

"Hey G."

"Hey Lori," Callen said and he got up and gave Lori a kiss. "I missed you today. How was work?"

"Work was fine. Pretty quiet day."

"Okay, so what was it then that Eric called you about?"

"Uhm… well Eric didn't exactly call. I was just getting a little annoyed with you and I thought it was best to just hang up than to explode at you over the phone. I'm sorry, it's the hormones."

"Oh, It's okay. I just missed you today and I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I missed you too. Just promise me you won't call me so often anymore okay."

"Alright, I promise. Now come here," Callen said and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

…..

Lori and Callen were sitting on the couch just watching some TV. Lori was leaning against Callen and Callen had one arm around her and his other hand was resting on her stomach.

"You're really okay to come back to work tomorrow?" Lori asked.

"I'm fine Lori, don't worry."

"Okay, I just wanna make sure you're fit again."

"I'm fine Lori, don't worry."

"Okay. It's just…." Lori started but Callen cut her off with a kiss.

He picked her up and carried her to the bed and gently laid her down on the bed and crawled down next to her.

"I'm absolutely fine Lori."

"Okay, just be careful."

"I will," Callen said and Lori and Callen changed into their sleeping clothes.

Lori laid her head down on Callen's bare chest and Callen wrapped his arm around her. Lori saw all the scars that he had on his chest. She knew that they were there but she never noticed them the way she did now and her fingers trailed a path from one scar to the other.

"You have a lot of scars," Lori said.

"I know, comes with the job."

"Where are these scars from?" Lori said as she touched his bullet wound scars.

"From a shooting 4 years ago."

"What happened?"

"Sam dropped me off at my place, not this one, it was near the beach. And as soon as I was at the corner a van came by and they shot me. Nearly killed me. Luckily for me Sam was there."

"Damn. Do you know who did it?"

"Yeah, it turned out to be one of my old team mates when I was with the DEA. He tried to kill everyone in that unit and he staged his own dead just so he could make a little profit with his company."

"Jeez what a jerk. You did catch him right?"

"Yeah, we did about 6 or 7 months later. He's rotting away in prison somewhere now."

"Good, that's what you get for shooting at you," Lori said and she gave him a kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Callen said and he gave her another kiss and Lori snuggled back into his chest.

…..

"Welcome back partner," Sam said as Callen and Lori walked into the bullpen.

"It's good to be back. Miss me?" Callen said with a little smile.

"Yeah, I missed you like I miss getting shot at," Sam said and he smiled a little.

"Missed you too Sam," Callen said and Sam smiled. He was glad to have his partner back again.

"You're okay to come back to work again, G?"

"What are you my mother or something? I'm fine honestly," Callen said and Sam looked at Lori.

"He says he's fine. I asked him myself yesterday. You know how he is," Lori said.

"Oh yes I do."

"You two done?" Callen said a little annoyed.

"Yeah just about," Sam said smiling.

"Welcome back Mr. Callen. It's good to have you back," Hetty said as she walked into the bullpen. "Now upstairs you go. You have a new case."

They went upstairs and Eric and Nell explained the case to them and the team went to work.

The case was pretty big so it took them 3 days to wrap the case up. But in the end they got the bad guys and nobody got injured.

The next day before work Lori had another doctor's appointment. Lori was now 18 weeks along. Callen was called into the office early so he wasn't able to go with her.

About 20 minutes after her appointment Lori walked into the office. All the agents were out investigating the case. She and Callen didn't really have a chance to speak during the day, because they were really busy with the case. Later when they were at home Callen finally had time to talk to Lori.

"Hey Lori, how did the appointment go today, everything alright?" Callen said.

"Yes everything was fine. The babies are growing very nice and all my test results came back fine. Everything is fine with both me and the babies."

"Glad to hear that. Sorry I wasn't there and sorry I wasn't able to ask you earlier."

"It's okay. You were busy with a case. I did get a picture for you," Lori said and she got the picture out of her bag and gave it to Callen.

"Wow, that's amazing. They have really grown already."

"Yeah I know."

"I love you," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss. "And I love you too." And Callen gave her stomach a kiss too.

"I love you too."

"Just out of curiosity, did the doctor mention anything about if the babies are boys or girls, or a boy and a girl?"

"No, she did ask if I wanted to know but I said I would like to keep that a surprise if that's alright with you."

"It's fine by me. I was just wondering."

"She did say that the twins are identical, so we'll be either having two boys or two girls."

"Okay. It doesn't matter, as long as they are healthy."

….

Callen was almost finished with painting the walls of the baby room. He just needed to do one of the small walls. He was about to start painting when he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. He quickly went to the kitchen.

"Everything okay in here?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just dropped a plate."

"Need help cleaning that up?"

"No, I'm good, thanks. You can go back to painting. I'll call when dinner is ready."

"Alright, you're sure?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

Callen managed to finish the wall before going to bed. He quickly jumped in the shower and joined Lori in bed.

"I'm done with painting. Now just need to wait for the furniture and then the room will be ready."

"Okay good. The furniture should be here in a week or two I guess."

"That's gives me plenty of time to put it together before the babies are here."

"Thank you for doing this again."

"It's my pleasure," Callen said and he kissed her and slowly his lips made their way down her neck.

"G, not tonight please. I'm not in the mood."

"Everything okay? You're feeling alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just not in the mood, okay."

"Okay, goodnight," Callen said and he gave her another kiss.

"Goodnight sweetie," Lori said and she rolled onto her side with her back towards Callen.

…..

It was a pretty slow day today so Lori decided to go to the gym to work out a bit. She decided to keep the workout light, not do to heavy stuff. She was punching at the training machine when Callen walked in. He had changed into his workout clothes as well and he joined Lori.

"Hey Lori," Callen said.

"Hey G. Gonna work out too?"

"Yep, it's a slow day today so I might as well do some training."

"I'm almost done with this thing so you can have at it."

"That's fine."

About a minute later Lori was done and she walked over to the bicycles and Callen trained at the machine. Lori watched Callen as he was working out. She had to admit that he did look good in his training clothes and with sweat running over his face. She tried to gather her thoughts and to focus on her own workout again.

About 15 minutes later she was done and she walked to the locker room to shower and afterwards she went to the armory to do some target practice.

A few minutes later Callen walked in. He didn't say anything and Lori didn't look around but she just knew that it was Callen. She tried to focus again on her shooting.

"Am I distracting you?" Callen said and Lori could feel his breath on her neck.

"No, I'm fine."

"Really? Cus it looked like the last few bullets missed target," Callen said as Lori put up a new paper.

"You're not distracting me."

"Oh really? Try shooting again then."

Lori aimed her weapon again while Callen was standing really close to her and he placed his hands on her hips. Lori paused and took a deep breath to focus. She kept her eyes on the target and emptied her magazine. All bullets hit the target, not all center mass hits but she still hit the target.

"Not bad," Callen said.

"Why don't you try it when I'm standing really close to you?"

"Alright," Callen said and he took out his gun and put a magazine with dummy bullets in it and he took his position.

Lori stood behind him and her hands were running over his chest, but Callen was able to maintain his focus. But what Lori did next made him miss the target. Lori moved her hands to his back and she grabbed his ass.

"Did I just distract Agent Callen?" Lori said.

"That was not fair," Callen said as he turned around.

"Maybe not, but it worked didn't it. You missed."

"True. But what would you do if I did that?" Callen said and he grabbed Lori by her ass and he pulled her to him.

"Probably miss too, I think," Lori said and she moved her head a little closer to Callen's so that their lips were almost touching. "We should probably go back to the bullpen soon."

"Yeah maybe we should," Callen said but they couldn't help themselves and their lips touched and they kissed.

A few minutes later Lori snapped out of the trance she was in and she realized that they were still at work and she broke the kiss.

"We shouldn't do this here."

"I know, but I couldn't help myself," Callen said and he wanted to kiss her again but Lori pushed him away.

"No G. Not now, not here."

"Alright, we'll finish this later at home."

"Maybe. We'll see."

Around 5.30pm everybody went home. Lori was in the kitchen making dinner when Callen joined her. He walked up to her and grabbed her from and he started kissing her neck.

"Not now G, I'm making dinner."

"That's okay, you don't have to do anything. I'm just kissing you," Callen said and his lips went back to her neck again.

"Callen, not now," Lori said and she stepped away.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure? Cus lately I get the feeling you don't like it anymore when I kiss you."

"I do like it, it's just lately I don't feel like it. I don't know why, must be the hormones messing with me."

"Alright then. I understand."

…..

Lori had her 20 week ultrasound today before work. Callen went with her. The doctor put the device on her stomach to examine the babies. Callen and Lori could see their little babies on the screen and they heard the heartbeats.

"Wow, they're so fast," Callen said as he listened to the heartbeats.

"It's normal," the doctor said.

"Everything okay with the babies, doctor?" Lori asked.

"Yes everything is fine. They are growing nice and big and their heartbeats sound just perfectly and everything looks fine."

"Good to hear."

"And how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Not feeling nauseous so much, just a little tired sometimes and sometimes my feet or my back hurts a little after standing too much. I also have this appetite for the craziest things, things I would never eat normally and sometimes my hormones are just running wild."

"Well, just sounds like a normal pregnancy. If you don't have any further questions I say we're done for today."

"Nope, no questions."

"Okay good, I'll see you in two weeks then."

They left the office and they went to work. It was a pretty slow day. Callen and Sam decided to do some training in the gym.

"Can I ask you something G?" Sam said.

"Sure, what's up Sam?"

"It's about you and Lori," Sam said and Callen stopped their sparring session.

"What about me and Lori?"

"I was just wondering how this happened exactly. I mean I thought you had this rule about 'never date someone who has their own handcuffs' and 'never date a co-worker'."

"I know Sam. I know I have these rules but…"

"But? What changed?"

"Lori did. I don't know what happened but it's just something about her that changed me and made me change my rules."

"Alright G. As long as you're happy."

"I am," Callen said and they continued their training

The rest of the day was pretty quiet so the team finished up on their paperwork. Around 6 everybody went home. Lori walked straight into the kitchen to get started on dinner. She was getting the pans out of the cupboard when Callen walked in.

"Lori, is everything okay with you? Are you mad at me or something?" Callen said and Lori turned around.

"What?" Lori said.

"You hardly talked to me today so I was wondering if you were mad at me or something."

Lori didn't say anything and she turned back around and sighed. Callen stood next to her while leaning against the counter.

"Are you just with me because I'm pregnant?"

"What?! Why would you say that?"

"I heard you and Sam talking earlier about your rules. You know: never date someone with their own handcuffs and never date a co-worker," Lori reacted a bit angry.

"Ah come on, Lori. You're serious?" Callen said and he tried to place his hand on her shoulder but Lori walked away.

"Is it true you have those rules?"

"Yes, I used to, until you came along."

"Until you found out that I was pregnant you mean."

"No before. I love you Lori and I just wanna be with you and our babies. What more do I have to do to make you realize that?"

"I don't know. How am I supposed to know you're telling the truth, that you really love me and not just because I'm pregnant with your babies?"

"I do love you Lori, more than anything and I'll prove it. Marry me, Lori."


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" Lori said and her eyes froze, locked on his face.

"Marry me Lori. I love you so much and I don't ever wanna live without you."

Lori panicked and she didn't know what to do. She loved Callen, but were they ready to get married? Callen took a step towards her but Lori stepped back. She needed some space, some time to think. Without thinking she left and ran out the door and down the street.

"Lori! Wait!" Callen said and he ran after her.

Lori ran to the corner of the street and she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach and she fell to the ground.

"Lori!" Callen said as he saw her fell and within seconds he was at her side. "Lori, you okay? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. It just hurts," Lori cried out.

"Alright, it's okay honey. I've got you," Callen said and he picked her up and carried her to his car.

His keys were still in his pocket. He drove to the hospital and Lori was taken up to the maternity floor. In the elevator she grabbed Callen's hand, holding onto it tight. Callen gave her a kiss on her head and said: "Everything is gonna be okay honey, don't worry. I'm right here with you."

Lori was brought to a room and a doctor game to check on her. The pain in her stomach had gone down.

"Any problems with your pregnancy so far?" The doctor asked.

"No, this morning I had my 20 week ultrasound and everything was fine," Lori said.

"Alright. I'm just gonna check you over okay."

The doctor checked to see if the babies were okay.

"Everything looks fine here. The babies are doing fine. Their heartbeats are normal and there's no sign of any bleedings."

Lori let out a relived sigh. "Then what caused the cramps?"

"I'm gonna do some more test, some blood tests to see if there's something that would have caused it. What were you doing when you had the cramps?"

"I was just running," Lori said not wanting to share the whole story.

"Okay. The nurse is gonna draw some blood and I'll be back later with the test results."

The nurse drew some blood and left the room. Callen sat on the bed in front of Lori.

"I'm sorry, G."

"For what?"

"For running out and now this."

"Hey, it's okay honey. It's not your fault," Callen said and he sat next to Lori and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer and Lori started to sob. "It's okay Lori, I'm here. It's okay."

Tears rolled over Lori's cheeks as she crawled closer to Callen. Callen lay down on his side on the bed with her and pulled her as close as he could and he kissed her head.

"Shhhh sweetie, it's okay. I've got you. Everything is gonna be alright. I'm here sweetie."

A little later the doctor came back in the room with the test results.

"I've got your test results here and everything looks fine," The doctor said.

Lori and Callen both led out a relived sigh.

"Then what caused the sudden cramps?" Lori asked.

"Probably some sort of anxiety or panic attack. You just overexerted yourself. So no more long runs."

"So everything is fine than with me and the babies?"

"Yes, all your tests came back negative but I would like to keep you overnight, just to make sure. It's standard."

"That's fine. Thank you doctor."

The doctor left the room and Callen kissed Lori.

"I'm so glad everything is okay with you three. You scared me when you went down."

"Yeah, me too."

Callen lay back down on the bed with Lori in his arms and they fell asleep.

The next morning Lori woke up and she saw Callen sitting on the chair next to her bed and his head was lying on her stomach and he kissed it and his hand was stroking over her stomach. It was at that moment that Lori realized that he really loved her and their babies and that his stupid rules didn't matter anymore.

"Morning," Lori said and Callen looked up.

"Morning," Callen said and he lifted his head up and kissed her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better."

"Good. I called Hetty to let her know what's up and she gave me a day off so I could be at home with you today."

"That's nice of her."

A little later the doctor came by and examined Lori again. Everything was fine so she could go home.

Lori sat down on the couch when they came home and Callen went to get some breakfast for them and joined her on the couch. They both finished their breakfast and once they were finished Lori climbed on top of Callen's lap and she kissed him.

"I love you. I really do, more than anything," Lori said.

"I love you too."

"Ask me again."

"Ask you what again?"

"What you asked me yesterday."

"You sure? You're not gonna run this time?" Callen teased.

"Yeah I'm sure. I'm not going anywhere."

"Alright, but this time I'll do it right," Callen said and he rolled Lori off of him and he stood up and he got down on one knee and took her hand. "Lorainne Carter, will you marry me?"

"Yes, I would love to marry you, G. Callen."

A big smile appeared on Callen's and Lori's face and he got up and kissed Lori again.

…

That Saturday Lori woke up by the smell of freshly baked bread. She got up and walked to the kitchen.

"Morning," Lori said.

"Morning," Callen said. "I made you some breakfast."

"Thank you. It smells delicious," Lori said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

Callen put the bread and the scrambled eggs on the table.

"Wait, I've got something more for you," Callen said and he pulled a box out of his pocket and put it on the table in front of Lori. "Open it."

Lori opened the box and her mouth fell open from amazement. "Oh my G, it's beautiful."

"I didn't have a ring with me when I asked you so I'm giving it to you now," Callen said and he grabbed the ring from the box and took Lori's hand and placed it on her finger.

"It's absolutely beautiful G. Thank you," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

"You're welcome."

They had a nice breakfast and later that day the furniture for the baby room was delivered and Callen went to work to put it together.

"How's it going in here?" Lori asked when she walked into the room a few hours later.

"It's fine. Just assembling the pieces together, I'm getting there."

"Okay good. Here, I brought you a beer."

"Thank you," Callen said and he took the beer and sat down in the rocking chair that was already in the room and Lori sat down on his lap.

"This room is absolutely gonna look beautiful. I just know it. Thank you for doing this again."

"It's my pleasure. It's the least I can do since you're carrying our little babies," Callen said as his hand ran over her stomach.

"Yeah, our little babies," Lori said and she placed her hand on top of Callen's hand and Callen kissed her. "Everything is okay between us right?"

"Yeah of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well because of the way I was acting lately and then running away. I don't know why I did that. I guess I've must have panicked or something."

"It's fine honey. Everything is fine."

"I love you, I really do and I don't regret anything, not for a second, it's just all happening so fast. I mean about 5 months ago we weren't even dating yet."

"I know yeah and you're right, it is happening a little bit fast. But it feels right to be here with you, with our babies."

"Yeah it does feel right. I've never loved anymore more than I love you."

"Same for me, I love you so much," Callen said and he put his beer on the floor and wrapped both his arms around Lori and kissed her.

…

Lori and Callen walked into the bullpen, Kensi and Sam were already there.

"Good morning," Lori said.

"Morning," Kensi and Sam replied back.

Lori sat down behind her desk and started to unpack her stuff.

"Oh my god. What's that on your finger, Lori?" Kensi asked shocked.

"You mean this?" Lori said as he showed Kensi her ring.

"Yeah."

"It's something G gave me over the weekend."

"Really? Callen gave that to you?" Kensi said and she looked at Callen who nodded. "Wait, does this mean….."

"You're getting married?" Sam interrupted Kensi.

"Who's getting married?" Deeks said as he walked into the bullpen.

"Me and Lori," Callen said.

"Well congratulations," Kensi said before being interrupted by Eric's whistle.

The team went to work and managed to wrap the case up before the end of the day. Callen and Lori were the last the go home.

"Goodnight Hetty," Callen said as they walked passed Hetty's office.

"Goodnight you two," Hetty said. "Oh and congratulations on the engagement."

"Thank you Hetty. Goodnight," Lori said.

Hetty watched them walk out, Callen with his arm around Lori and Hetty was happy for him that he finally found someone special in his life and that he was about to have a family of his own. The only thing she wasn't happy about at first was that it was a fellow agent, but they had showed her that they still could work together just like before. At least Lori knew who he really was and what kind of past that he had.

…..

Callen was watching some sports while Lori was just fumbling around with her laptop, just surfing on the internet.

"Hey G, just a question," Lori said.

"What's up?"

"About us getting married, when would you like to get married, before or after the babies are here?"

"Well, I haven't thought about that. But I think it would be nice to marry you before the babies are born. You know, marrying the woman that I love while she's carrying my little babies."

"Yeah, that's nice. But then we would have to get married within now and 10 weeks or so, cus I don't know if I'm up for it when I'm in my last trimester."

"That's fine by me. If it were up to me we'd get married right now," Callen said with a little smile.

Lori replied with the same little smile and kissed him. Callen put her laptop away and cradled her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom and gently placed her on the bed and he lay next to her, kissing her again and they made love, very gentle, loving and sweet.

…..

"So you and Lori are getting married?" Sam asked as he and Callen were training together.

"Yep we were, pretty soon actually. We're getting married before Lori's in her third trimester."

"Well that's soon, cus she's about 20 weeks now right?"

"21 weeks. So it's within now and a week or 10. Haven't set a date yet."

"Well, look at you G. A soon to be husband and father. I'm happy for you G. You and Lori seem right for each other."

"Thanks Sam. I do have a favor to ask you."

"Anything G."

"Would you be my best man?"

"Of course G, I'd be honored."

"Thanks Sam," Callen said and they gave each other a bro hug and went back to training.

…

Lori was already at home. Callen was still at work. He needed to finish something. Lori decided to call her parents to let them know she was getting married.

"Hello," Lori's mother said as she picked up the phone.

"Hey mom, it's me Lori."

"Hey Lori, how are you? How are the babies?"

"I'm fine. The babies are doing fine. They are growing nice and big. How are things over there?"

"Fine, fine. Everybody's good."

"Good to hear. I actually called to tell you something."

"Oh really? What?"

"Greg and I are getting married."

"What?! For real? That's wonderful. Congratulations."

"Thank you. I'm really happy right now."

"I'm glad to hear that. When will the wedding be?"

"Don't know the exact date yet but soon, in a couple of weeks. We'll send you an invitation once we've set on a date."

"Okay good. And if there's anything I can do to help just let me know okay."

"I will. Could you tell dad too? I'll call the others."

"Sure I will."

"Okay good. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

Lori hung up at phone just as Callen walked in.

"Hey G."

"Hey Lori, who were you talking too?"

"Oh I just called my mom to tell her about us getting married. She was very happy for us."

"I'm very glad to hear that," Callen said as he sat down on the couch next to Lori and gave her a kiss and then kissed her stomach.

"You finished with you work?"

"Yeah for today. Tomorrow is a new day. I'm just gonna go grab a beer, you want something?"

"Yeah, could you bring a soda and some popcorn?"

"Here you go," Callen said as he returned a few seconds later.

"Thanks sweetie. I've been thinking about our wedding. You know about all the stuff that needs to be done and I was thinking about where we should get married."

"Uh-uh. Where would you like to get married?"

"I don't know. It doesn't necessarily have to be in a church. We could rent a place somewhere. There are a lot of places here where you can have a wedding. I've been looking at some things," Lori said as she grabbed her laptop and showed Callen some locations. "I really like this one. It looks very nice, not too big and we can have both the wedding and the reception there."

"It looks very nice. Do you have a number there? I'll call them to see if it's available."

"Yeah it's right here."

Callen called and the place was available at Saturday 5 weeks from now. They both agreed with that date and Callen booked the place.

"Well looks like we'll be married in 5 weeks," Lori said.

"Yes we will," Callen said and he lifted Lori unto his lap and kissed her.

….

Lori and Kensi had a girl's night out, they had become very good friends, being the only two female agents there. First they went to the movies and after that they went to the diner.

"So you and Callen are getting married?" Kensi said.

"Yep, in 5 weeks."

"Well that's really soon."

"Yeah, we talked about it and we decided that we wanted to get married before the babies are here and before I'm in my last trimester."

"That's very nice. I'm happy for you two. You two make a cute couple."

"Thank you Kens. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Would you like to be my made of honor?"

"Really? I'd be honored."

"Good."

"Is your family coming too?"

"Yes they are."

"Do they know about what kind of work you do and what Callen does?"

"Yeah they do, sort of. They know I'm a federal agent. They just think I'm still with the bureau and they think G is too. They don't know about NCIS or OSP."

"Have they met Callen yet?"

"Yeah they did, at least my parents did. We went to visit them a couple months ago when G and I went to Portland."

"They don't live here in LA?"

"No, they live in Seattle."

"That's a bit far from here."

"Yeah, we moved there when I was young and I worked in Portland with the FBI for a while before I moved back to LA. I do miss them sometimes, but I made the decision to move back here and I don't regret it. I'm happy here. I feel at home here in LA and with NCIS."

"And you have Callen here."

"Yes that's very true. He really is a sweet guy and I love him very much."

"I can tell and I also can tell Callen loves you very much. I've never seen him like this with any girl before. How is he about becoming a father?"

"He's okay about it. We both are. It happened quite unexpected for us, but we are really happy now. Excited about becoming parents but also a bit scared, cus we have no idea what's it gonna be like when the babies are here."

"I'm sure you're gonna be fine. And the babies will have 3 aunts and 3 uncles extra, all of us."

….

That Saturday Lori and Kensi went shopping for a wedding dress while Callen worked on the baby room.

They walked into the bridal shop and the sales woman went to get some dresses for Lori and Lori tried them on.

"Which one do you like best, Kens?" Lori asked when she tried on the dresses.

"They are all very nice, but I would have the say the second I think," Kensi said.

"Yeah I liked that one too, or the third one."

"Try them both on again."

Lori decided to go with the second dress and she picked out matching shoes and a veil to go with the dress and they also chose a bridesmaid dress for Kensi.

…..

Callen and Lori continued to plan their wedding. They had made invitations already and decided on the cake they wanted and they also picked out rings and now they were going over the other stuff that needed to be done.

"Did Kensi already talk to you about picking out a suit?" Lori asked.

"Yes she did, we are going this weekend. I'm really curious how you'll look in your wedding dress," Callen said.

"It's a really beautiful dress. But you're gonna have to wait until the wedding. You can't see it yet."

"Come on, just a little bit, tell me what it looks like."

"No, you'll just have to wait."

"Are you sure you don't wanna tell me just a little bit?" Callen said and he kissed her shoulder and slowly made his way to her neck.

"This is not gonna help. I'm not gonna tell you."

"You sure?" Callen said and he kissed her on the spot in her neck that he knew that she loved when he did that.

Lori let out a tiny moan as Callen kissed her there. "You can kiss me all you want, I'm not gonna tell."

"You're no fun," Callen said and he stopped kissing her.

"Though," Lori said with a little smile on her face.

"Okay, now you're just teasing me."

"Maybe," Lori said with a cheeky smile.

Callen kissed her again. This time on her lips and Lori totally kissed him back. She pushed his back against the couch and climbed onto his lap. Callen wrapped his arms around her back and was stroking her back. They kissed each other like that for a couple of minutes before returning to their weddings plans.

…

Callen couldn't sleep at night so he decided to go out and get a cup of tea. He was just about to grab a cup when some grabbed him from behind. They started to fight. Lori had woken up from the noise and when she didn't see Callen next to her she grabbed her gun and carefully peeked outside the bedroom door and she walked through the house. She saw Callen struggling with some guy.

"Freeze! Let him go!" Lori said and she pointed her gun at him.

"Lori! What are you doing here? Stay back," Callen said.

The guy turned around to face Lori and a few seconds later the noise of gunfire filled the room.


	8. Chapter 8

"Freeze! Let him go!" Lori said and she pointed her gun at him.

"Lori! What are you doing here? Stay back," Callen said.

The guy turned around to face Lori and Lori saw that he was going for his gun. She didn't hesitate for a second and pulled the trigger, shooting him in his arm. Callen quickly reacted and grabbed his gun and pushed him down on the floor and cuffed him.

"You good?" Lori asked.

"Yeah I'm good. You?"

"I'm good too."

"What where you doing here?"

"I heard the noise and when I didn't see you next to me I got scared and I grabbed my gun. I thought something bad had happened to you. Who's this guy?"

"I have no idea, but I'm planning to find out," Callen said and he pulled the man up and sat him down on the kitchen chair.

"Who the hell are you people? You shot me!" The young man said.

"I'll be asking the questions here. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Jimmy and I was just looking for some cash," the young man said terrified.

"Who sent you?!"

"No one, I swear."

"You better be telling the truth."

"I am honestly. I'm sorry man. I was just looking for some cash to buy some food."

"I think he's telling the truth G," Lori said.

"Yeah I am."

Callen called LAPD and they came to arrest him.

"You sure picked the wrong house to break in to," the LAPD officer said. "You sure you're alright Agent Callen, Agent Carter?"

"Yes we're fine," Callen said.

"Wait? What Agent? Damn just my luck, breaking into the house of an Agent," the young man said.

They took him to jail.

"You sure you're okay, G?" Lori asked.

"I'm fine Lori. You okay too?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm not the one who got into a fight with him."

"No, thank god no. Come on let's go back to bed, we'll clean up here in the morning."

They got back into bed and Lori snuggled against Callen and Callen put his arm around her and they drifted off to sleep.

…..

Callen was working on the baby room again. He was almost finished with putting both cribs together. One was already up and finished and the other one was almost done.

"Lori, could you come in here for a sec?" Callen called.

"What's up G?" Lori said as she walked into the baby room.

"Where do you want the cribs?"

"Uhm, let's see. I think right there," Lori said as she pointed to a spot over at the long wall. "And then with on side against the wall and not just with the head end."

"Yeah that was what I was thinking too and then the changing table over there and next to that the closet."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. You need a hand with something?"

"No, I'm good thanks."

"Alright, I'll just go make dinner. Call you when it's done."

"Yup, that's okay."

They enjoyed dinner and as Lori was getting changed into her PJ's and she stopped to look at herself in the mirror and her fast growing stomach.

"You look absolutely beautiful," Callen said as he walked into the room and saw her looking in the mirror.

"No, I look fat. I mean look at me. I'm only 22 weeks but to me it looks like I'm already 30."

"You look absolutely beautiful," Callen said as he stood behind her and placed his on her stomach and put his head on her shoulder.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No, I'm not. I really mean it. So your stomach is a little bigger then it normally is, but you are carrying twins and you look absolutely radiant. Come on let's get you and that little pregnant belly of yours to bed."

Lori couldn't help but chuckled as Callen said that. Callen heard her chuckled and he answered her chuckle but picking her up and spinning her around to the bed and placed her gently on her side of the bed and lay down next to her and crawled against her and kissed her goodnight before they both drifted off to sleep.

The next day Lori had another doctor's appointment before work. Callen went with her again. Everything was still fine with Lori and the babies.

After the doctor's appointment they went to the office and just as soon as they set foot in the bullpen Eric whistled for them and they went upstairs to get briefed on the case and they got to work on the case.

…..

"Hey Lori, what are you watching?" Callen said as he walked back in the living room after his shower.

"Oh just a movie, what to expect when you're expecting," Lori said.

"Let me guess, it's about a pregnant woman."

"Yes, multiple pregnant women actually, each with a different story."

"Mind if I watch it with you?"

"No, it's fine."

Callen sat next to Lori on the couch and he watched the movie with her. But after a while his mind drifted away to when their babies were being born and that made him feel happy. He couldn't wait to see their babies. He didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the movie. He was shocked out of his thought when he heard a woman scream.

"Geez, does she have to scream so loudly?" Callen said.

"Well, I've heard that it can hurt quite a bit, giving birth."

"You scared about that?"

"A little. Especially since it are two babies."

"You'll do fine sweetie. And I'll be right there to hold your hand and help you through it."

"Thanks G," Lori said and she crawled against Callen.

"Anytime," Callen said and he put his arm around Lori and gave her a kiss on her head.

…

That morning Lori and Callen were woken up early but Callen's phone ringing. Callen answered and Lori looked at the alarm clock.

"We'll be right there," Callen said and he hung up the phone. "They need us at OPS."

"Mmm," Lori grunted as she stretched herself. "It's only 6 o'clock."

"I know, but we've got an urgent case," Callen said and he gave her a soft kiss trying to wake her up.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

15 minutes later they were on their way to the office.

"What's so urgent Eric?" Callen said as they walked into OPS.

"Director's coming online in a minute," Eric said and about a minute later the director was on the screen.

"Glad you all could be here so fast," Vance said.

"What's going on director?" Callen said.

"We got a hit this morning on someone of our watch list, Igor Brandov. He's right there in LA. He's wanted for arms deals and he has connections with the Russian mafia. He's planning on buying military grade weapons. I want you to stop him before he can buy these weapons. I've send Eric everything we have so far on the case. Good luck," Vance said and he signaled and the video feed was cut off.

"Eric, let's bring the file up."

"Alright, Igor Brandov, Russian, wanted in several countries for arms deals. Got a hit on him last night at the marina. He came in by boat," Eric said as he brought up the info.

"Do you know who owns the boat?" Sam said.

"The slip the boat is at is registered to a Mitchell Donnelly. He lives right here in LA," Nell said.

"Alright, Kensi, Deeks, why don't you guys go pay him a visit," Callen said and Kensi and Deeks left. "Lori, see what more you can find out about Brandov, where he might be staying, where he's buying the weapons from, anything."

"Got it. What are you gonna do?" Lori said.

"Gonna pay an old friend a visit," Callen said and he walked towards the exit and Lori looked at Sam.

"Arkady," Sam said and Lori nodded.

"Are you coming Sam?" They heard Callen calling from the hallway and Sam followed him.

Lori went downstairs and sat behind her laptop to start working.

About 10 minutes later Callen and Sam arrived at Arkady's house. Callen and Sam walked to the backyard.

"To what do I owe the pleasure this early?" Arkady said as he saw Callen and Sam approaching.

"We just wanna ask you something," Callen said.

"Let me guess, about another Russian criminal. Who is it this time?"

"Igor Brandov, ever heard of him?" Callen said as he showed Arkady his picture.

"Maybe I've heard his name once or twice."

"Maybe you've heard something more about him," Sam said.

"He a Russian arms dealer, has connections to the mafia."

"We know that. Anything else? Maybe why he's in LA," Callen said.

"I don't know exactly why, but I've heard rumors about him buying weapons from other Russians. And it's supposed to happen tomorrow. I don't know where or from who, but I've heard that Brandov likes to spend some time with some exotic dance girls."

"Strippers you mean. You have any idea where?"

"Maybe Russian bar on Pico."

"Thank you."

"We stay in touch old friend."

Callen and Sam went back to the office followed by Kensi and Deeks.

"What did you find out from Donnelly?" Callen said.

"Not much, he said he just gave him a lift and that the man paid him 2 thousand dollars cash so he didn't ask," Kensi said. "What did you find out?"

"Arkady said the deal is going down tomorrow. And that Brandov likes to spend time with certain female companionship, specifically on Pico."

"So guess I'm going undercover," Kensi said.

"Unfortunately not. It's a Russian bar and you may look a lot of things, but definitely not Russian. Deeks and I will go," Callen said and he looked at Sam who was giving him an annoyed look. "Sorry Sam, but Deeks looks more Russian then you do. You're in Deeks?"

"Sure," Deeks said.

"Did you find out anything Lori?"

"Uhm not much, other than that spotting at the marina he's not shown up anywhere on camera and he's not leaving a digital footprint anywhere. I'll keep looking for any connections he has that might lead us to the seller."

"Okay good work, we'll head to the club to see if Brandov is there," Callen said and the rest of the team left.

Callen and Deeks went inside while Sam and Kensi stayed in the car for backup.

"Что я могу получить вы, ребята?[What can I get you boys?]" The waitress said as Callen and Deeks had taken a seat in one of the booths.

"Бутылка водки с двумя стаканами[A bottle of vodka with 2 glasses]" Callen said in perfect Russian.

The waitress smiled and walked away.

"Okay, I can't speak Russian," Deeks whispered to Callen.

"Relax, just smile and look like you're enjoying yourself. I'll do the talking," Callen said.

They looked around the room and saw Brandov in one of the back booths being entertained by a private dancer.

"I've got eyes on Brandov," Callen said.

About half an hour later Brandov got up to go to the toilet, Callen signaled to Deeks and Deeks got up and walked towards him and accidentally bumped into him. Brandov turned at him and looked angry.

"извините[sorry]," Deeks said using his best Russian accent and the word Callen had just told him.

"Смотри, куда вы собираетесь[Watch where you're going]" Brandov said angrily.

"извините[sorry]," Deeks said again and he walked outside and returned about 2 minutes later.

"Bug planted?" Callen whispered to Deeks.

"Yep, all set. Think he bought my Russian accent?" Deeks said.

"Yeah think so, you're all good."

They finished their glasses and walked back outside and walked around the corner and got in the car with Kensi and Sam.

"All good?" Sam said.

"All good, bug is planted. Now all we need do to is listen," Callen said and they drove back to OPS and listened to what Brandov was saying. He was speaking Russian so Callen, besides Hetty, was the only one who could understand.

"What are they saying G? Anything with value to us?" Sam said.

"Not so far, boring chitchat," Callen said.

They listened for a couple more minutes.

"Eric, see what you can find on Andrei Pandorov. He's the one where Brandov is buying the weapons from."

"Already looking," Eric said and Eric and Nell started typing behind their computers.

"Buy is going down tomorrow, 2pm, Beverly Hills, 1543 S Mapleton Dr."

"That house is owned by Pandorov. But it's heavily secured. High fence, 5 security cameras outside, heavy duty security system. You won't just get past that."

"Maybe we don't need to," Callen said.

"What's your plan G?" Sam said.

"We draw them out."

The next day they went to the armory to gear up and they left for the house. Callen, Sam and Deeks stayed in the van while Kensi took her position up on a roof on the other side of the street. She shot the guards that were outside and quickly other guards came outside and Kensi shot them as well.

"Guards are down," Kensi said and at that Callen, Sam and Deeks got out of the van.

"Nell, kill the power on my count, 3, 2, 1," Callen said and Nell cut the power to the house so Callen, Sam and Deeks could walk in without being spotted by the cameras.

They climbed over the wall and carefully made their way towards the door. The coast seemed clear. Callen walked in first. He shot someone who was standing on the top of the stairs. Sam and Deeks moved in as well. They had to dodge some bullets but they managed to shot all of the guards. They moved to the backroom where they found Pandorov and Brandov.

"Federal agents! Hands were we can see them!" Sam said and they put their hands up.

"Move against the wall," Callen said.

Callen and Sam kept their guns on them while Deeks searched them and cuffed them and they arrested them and took the crates full of weapons back with them and they were ships to Pendleton.

"Good work everyone," Hetty said as the team walked into the office.

…..

"Lori, could you come here for a sec?" Callen called for the baby room.

"What's up G?" Lori said as she walked towards the baby room. As she walked into the room she stopped and looked at it.

"It's finished. What do you think of it?"

"It's perfect. It looks beautiful. I'm sure the babies are gonna love it here. Thank you G. It's absolutely perfect."

"You're welcome," Callen said and he walked up to her and gave her a kiss and kissed her stomach.

"Could you set the table please? Dinner is ready."

"Sure, I'll clean up here after dinner."

They enjoyed a nice dinner and Callen went to clean up the stuff in the baby room while Lori did the dishes. Callen was done and he walked into the kitchen and slit behind Lori and put his hands on her stomach.

"You need hand?" Callen said.

"No, I'm good thanks."

"You sure," Callen said and he moved her hair from her neck and placed a soft kiss there.

"G, please, not now."

"Okay, I'll help you dry off then."

They watched TV that night before Lori went to bed followed by Callen a little later. Lori was lying on her side, with her back towards Callen's side and her stomach was resting on her pregnancy pillow. Callen got into bed and crawled close against her and moved his arm around her and stroked the hair out of her face with the other and gave her a kiss on her cheek and then moved to her neck.

"G," Lori said.

"Lori," Callen said and kissed her neck again.

"Please don't. Not now, I wanna sleep."

"Okay, goodnight honey," Callen said and gave her another kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight G."

The next day Callen and Sam were on a stakeout together.

"Everything okay G?" Sam asked as his partner was quieter than normal.

"Yeah everything is fine. It's just Lori doesn't like it anymore lately when I touched her or kiss her."

"That's because she's pregnant G. Michelle had that too. Especially towards the end of her pregnancy, I couldn't go near her and she always slept with this pregnancy pillow."

"Yeah Lori uses that too. It drives me crazy sometimes. I just wanna cuddle with her at night sometimes but she doesn't want to."

"You can't win G, she's pregnant. If she doesn't want it, she doesn't want it."

"Yeah you're right, and she makes it very clear."

"Well there's not much you can do. Just let her know that you're there for her when she needs you."

…

"How's the wedding planning going G?" Sam asked as they were on the way to talk to a suspect.

"Fine. Just going over some last little details," Callen said.

"Good. I'm happy for you G, for you and Lori."

"Thanks Sam. I really feel happy with her. At first when she told me she was pregnant, I wasn't sure that this was gonna work. But I think we've really made this work. I know we kinda dove into this but it feels right at this moment."

"That's good."

Later that day Sam went to talk to Lori. She was downstairs in the armory cleaning her gun.

"Hey Lori," Sam said as he walked into the armory.

"Hey Sam."

"You've got a sec?"

"Sure, what's up?'

"About you and G. I just wanna know how it's going between you two. I know it's your private business, but he's my partner and I care for him."

"It's okay. I know you care about him. But everything is going fine. Why do you ask, has G given you any reason why it should not be fine?"

"No no, not at all. It's just, you know G. He doesn't easily open up to anyone. So I just wanna make sure everything is fine between you two. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"That's sweet of you. But everything is fine between us. We're happy together."

Sam nodded and he left the room. Lori went back to cleaning her gun and she realized that she not only said the words to convince Sam but to also convince herself. She wasn't sure anymore how she felt about Callen and about getting married to him.

The next day Lori had a day off and she started to think about her decision to marry Callen. Lately she had started to doubt if agreeing to marry Callen and getting married so soon was the right decision. It was just 2 weeks before they were getting married and she started to get scared. She thought to herself if she was ready to be married. She did feel something for Callen, but was it love or was it just because she was pregnant with his babies. She was hormonal, emotional and scared. She panicked. She needed some time to think, some space. At that moment she didn't see any other way to deal was this, so she went to the bedroom and packed a bag and wrote Callen a note and left it on the fridge and she took a cab to the airport and got on a flight to Seattle.


	9. Chapter 9

It was just after 6pm when Callen walked into the house.

"Lori, I'm home," Callen said but there was no answer. "Lori," Callen said again as he walked through the house trying to find her.

He couldn't find her anywhere. He walked into the kitchen and saw the note on the fridge. He grabbed it off the fridge and started to read it:

..

_G,_

_I'm really sorry, please forgive me, but I needed some time to think, some space from you and our lives together. _

_I'm really sorry. I got scared and I panicked and I didn't see another way to deal with this right now. I'm sorry. I've gone to Seattle for the time being. I don't know when I'll be back._

_I told Hetty that I needed some time off to deal with a family situation back home._

_Please forgive me,_

_Lori_

_.._

Callen could feel his anger building up as he read that note. How could she just leave like that?! He crumpled the piece of paper and threw it on the floor. He slid down to the floor, back resting against the fridge. It was a long time ago that he felt this angry and hurt. He had never loved anyone as much as he loved Lori and she just left like that. He could feel tears building up in his eyes. He tried to hold back but he just couldn't. He never showed emotions but this time he couldn't help himself and tears strolled down his cheeks. He sat there for a while before he got control of himself again.

He got up and grabbed his laptop. He was going to get her back. He couldn't life without her and their babies. He looked for the first flight out of here to Seattle.

"Damn," Callen said as he saw the first flight didn't leave until 11am the next morning.

He booked the flight anyway and he would ask Hetty for a couple of days off tomorrow.

He needed to get some of this frustration out of him so he decided to go for a run. He kept running and running and only realized how long he had been running as he came home 2 hours later. He got in the shower trying to wash the sorrow and pain off of him. It didn't really help though. He grabbed a quick meal and lay down on the bed. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. All he could think about was Lori.

The next morning he put some of his stuff in a bag and as he was doing that he got a call from Eric, saying he was needed in OPS and that is was urgent.

Against his will he drove to OPS and he waited to be debriefed on the new case. He had to go undercover. It had to be him, he was the best for this op.

"Mr. Callen, a word with you, please," Hetty said as she walked out of OPS and to her office. Callen followed her.

"Is everything alright Mr. Callen, I got a email from Lori that she needed some time off to deal with some family situation back home?"

"Yes, everything is fine. No biggie, she just had to be home for a couple of days," Callen said not wanting everyone to know what was really going on.

"So, you're good to go undercover?"

"I'm fine Hetty," Callen said but deep down he hated going undercover right now. All he wanted was to go after Lori and bring her back home, but he knew his job came before anything else.

Eric had backstopped him and he was good to go undercover. He went to wardrobe to get changed and as he looked in the mirror he shook off all the thoughts about Lori and focus solely on the case. Before he left he fired off a quick text to Lori.

Lori heard her phone beeping and looked at the message she got. She saw that it was from Callen. With a little hesitation she opened the message and read it:

"Lori, please come home so we can talk about this. I love you, G."

Tears appeared in Lori's eyes as she read the text. Did she make the right decision about leaving like this? She couldn't just go back, not after everything that happened.

…..

Lori spent most of the days upstairs in her room, just lying curled up on the bed, thinking about everything. She was shocked out of her thoughts when her mother came in.

"Lori, honey, I brought you some dinner. You have to eat something," her mother said.

"Thanks."

"You wanna tell me what's been bothering you for the past couple of days?"

Lori sat up in the bed and looked at her mother.

"What's wrong sweetie? Did something happen between you and Greg?"

"No, it's not Greg, it's me. I don't know if I'm ready to get married."

"Aw sweetie," her mother said and she pulled her in for a hug. "Only you can answer that. Why don't you talk to him about this?"

"I can't. I don't know how. He's always so sweet to me."

"If he loves you he'll understand."

"I can't just go back after everything that happened. Not right now. Could you go please, I just wanna be alone right now?"

"Alright sweetie, I'll be right here if you need me," her mother said and she gave her a kiss on her head.

…

Callen's undercover mission lasted a week, it ended successfully, and all he could think about was Lori. He asked Hetty for a couple days off and he got on the first flight to Seattle. He was determined to get Lori back. He needed her in his life.

When he got off of the plane he took a cab to Lori's parents' place. On the ride over he heard Michael Buble's everything on the radio and that made him think of Lori even more.

He walked up to the door and knocked and a little later Lori's mother opened the door.

"Greg, hi," she said as she opened the door.

"Hi, Is Lori here?" Callen said.

"I'm sorry she's not here," she said although she was lying. But Lori had said that she didn't want to see him right now.

"Do you know where she is?"

"I'm sorry I don't know."

"Please, if you know where she is, please tell me. I need to see her."

"I'm sorry Greg, I don't know. If I see her I tell her you stopped by okay."

"Okay," Callen said in a very down tone and Lori's mother closed the door.

There was something about the way she acted that made Callen believe she wasn't telling the truth. He remembered where her room was and that it had a balcony. It was already dark outside so the curtains where closed. Callen walked around the house to her bedroom.

There was a tree just outside her room. He climbed up on the tree to get to her balcony. He stepped onto the balcony and saw that her door was slightly open. He walked in and quietly closed it.

Callen saw she was asleep in her bed and he quietly walked through the room and locked the door in case her parents would come in and he crawled down on the bed next to her and he touched her arm and stroked it up and down lightly and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Lori recognized the touch even in her sleep.

"mmmm G," Lori said still half asleep and Callen gave her another kiss on her cheek and he saw that Lori slowly started to open her eyes.

"G?" Lori said when she opened her eyes and saw the man in front of her.

"Yeah it's me Lori, I'm here," Callen said and Lori looked into his eyes. She didn't see anger, like she was expecting because she left like that, she saw love in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm getting you back. I miss you so much. I would have come sooner but I had to go undercover for a week. Why did you leave? What's going on? Talk to me."

"I don't know G," Lori said as she sat up against the head end of the bed. "I panicked. I didn't know what to do so I left. I'm sorry." Callen could see tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey it's okay Lori," Callen said as he put his arm around her and pulled her against him. "Why did you panic? What are you scared of?"

Lori took a deep sigh. "About you and me, about getting married. I don't know if I'm ready for that, if we're ready for that. I'm sorry. I know I agreed to marry you and I want to, but I think it's too soon to get married next week. I'm sorry. I'm just really hormonal and emotional lately and it's messing with me. I think they messed with me as I was panicking and thinking about this."

"It's okay Lori. I know my proposal to you was kinda out of the blue but I meant it, I still do. But if you think it's too soon we can postpone."

"Really? You're not mad?" Lori said and she lifted her head and looked into his eyes.

"No, of course I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you. I want to marry you, but if you're not ready I can wait. I don't care about that. I only care about having you with me and if that means having to postpone the wedding, I'm okay with that."

"But what about everything? I mean we've already planned everything."

"We'll just cancel it. That's not important. You and our babies are more important to me than our wedding. I love you," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

Lori looked in his eyes and saw that he meant what he said. That he was really in love with her and not just because she was pregnant and the way he reacted to her and coming to look for her and what he said told her that as well. For a moment it was quiet and Lori just looked in his beautiful blue eyes and she felt the touch of his hand on her cheek and that lit a spark deep within her, the same spark she felt when they kissed for the first time, and she placed her hand on his cheek too and Callen turned his head a little and kissed it and his hand, that was on her cheek, moved down to her stomach. Lori moved closer to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

Callen looked into her beautiful green eyes and he saw the same look in her eyes that he knew where in his. Callen lay back down on the bed on his back and pulled Lori down with him and put both his arms around her to pull her close to him and Lori snuggled into his chest. A little later he could hear Lori sobbing. He pulled her even closer and stroked her back up and down and he kissed her head and lay his head down on top of her head.

"Shhh, it's okay Lori. I'm here sweetie, it's okay."

Callen kept stroking her back until she stopped sobbing and drifted off to sleep. Callen just lay there, feeling the comfort of having Lori in his arms once again. He drifted asleep a few minutes later.

The next morning Lori woke up and felt the warmth of his body underneath her but she was afraid to open her eyes, fearing that he would not be there anymore when she opened her eyes.

"Good morning," Callen said.

"Good morning, I'm not dreaming am I, you're really here?" Lori said.

"No, you're not dreaming Lori, I'm really here."

Lori lifted her head up and looked in his eyes and placed her hand on his chest.

"Did you really mean what you said last night?" Lori said.

"Yes of course I meant what I said. I just want you with me. I want you in my life and if you're not ready I'm happy to wait."

"Thank you G. And I'm sorry for all of this. I didn't want to hurt you but at that moment all I could think about was getting some space to think. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay sweetie. We're together now again and I'm never letting you leave again," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

Lori sat up a little and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

"I love you, and I'm sorry that I ever doubted that. Sometimes with these pregnancy hormones and stuff I can't think straight."

"It's okay Lori. I wasn't sure myself either when you had just told me when you were pregnant, but after, you know, that guy broke into your house and held you hostage it hit me that I really love you and that sleeping with you was not just a onetime thing because we were drunk. It was because it felt something for you, I just didn't know what it was and I was afraid to act on them because I didn't know how you felt. But that night I felt that you felt the same way about me as I did about you."

"Yeah I know what you mean. I felt it too before that night but I was afraid to act on it too. But yeah that night felt right. And look at where it brought us."

"Yeah it has brought us here together with two little babies on the way and I've never felt happier then when I'm with you."

"Are you sure everything is okay between us and that you're sure about postponing the wedding?

"Yes, if that is what you want I'm okay with it."

"I do wanna get married to you, I'm not changing my answer to your question, but it's just too soon. I'm just not ready."

"It's okay, we'll just wait until after the babies are born. And maybe you're right, maybe it is too soon for us. I just felt like I had to ask you after we had that little argument. But I had been thinking about it for a little longer. I just didn't know when it was the right time."

"Thank you G for understanding. But what are we gonna tell everyone?"

"Anytime Lori. Well, we don't necessarily have to tell them everything, that's between you and me. We just tell them that we're not up for it with everything going on."

"You are really the sweetest person I've ever met."

"I feel the exact same way about you," Callen said and he wanted to give Lori a kiss but they were disturbed by someone knocking on the door.

"Lori, is everything okay in there? Who are you talking to?" Lori's mother said.

"I'm fine mom, it's just Greg."

"Greg? What is he doing there? How did he get in?"

"Everything is fine mom, don't worry. It's okay. He came through the balcony door. It's fine."

They stayed in the bed a little longer just feeling the comfort of being in each other's arms again.

"Come on, I'm taking you home," Callen said.

"Are you sure you can handle living with me? You know with me being pregnant, being hormonal and emotional," Lori said.

"I've managed to handle it so far," Callen said a little joking and he was replied by a light push from Lori's elbow. "Of course I can handle it honey, cus I love you."

"I love you too," Lori said and she gave him another kiss before getting out of bed.

Callen helped her pack up her stuff and they went down to get some breakfast and they explained to their parents that they were postponing the wedding. Luckily her parents were very understanding about it and they respected their decision.

After breakfast they got on a flight back to LA and Callen drove them back to their home.

"Welcome home honey," Callen said once they were inside and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm glad to be home again. I probably didn't want to admit it at the time I was at my parents' house, but I missed you, missed being here in our home," Lori said as she wrapped her arms around Callen's back and laid her head down on his chest.

Callen moved his arms a little higher so he could hold her better in his arms. They just stood there for a while just holding each other. Lori couldn't believe what she was thinking, just running away like that. But at that moment it was all she could think about. But everything was okay now. He came for her and he took her back home. Home, that was the right term, she thought to herself. It felt home being here with him, even though everything happened so fast between them, it still felt like home. She was still a bit scared though, how their lives would be from this point on. With having postponed the wedding and twins on the way, but she thought to herself that they could handle it as long as they were together.

Callen went to make dinner a little later and around 11pm they went to bed. Callen was already in bed when Lori came back from the bathroom and she pulled the cover away to get into bed.

"Have you seen my pillow G?" Lori asked when she didn't see her pregnancy pillow in the bed.

"It's right here," Callen said as he held his arms out to Lori.

Lori took his arms and lay in his embrace, her head resting on his shoulder and her stomach resting against his stomach and one leg tangled around his.

"Comfortable?" Callen asked.

"Yes," Lori said and she lifted her head up to meet his eyes and she moved her head closer and gave him a kiss. "Goodnight and thank you again for everything."

"Goodnight and you're welcome for everything."

Lori was fast asleep. Callen just looked at her sleeping and he felt happy to have her with him again. For the past week he couldn't think of anything else but Lori, even though he was on an undercover assignment. During his work he didn't think of her much, he tried to focus on the job at hand but when he was laying in bed at night his mind wandered towards Lori. He hadn't slept much the last week, but now he held Lori in his arms again and he closed his eyes, enjoying her warmth against him and he drifted off to sleep.

He woke up a few hours later and he didn't feel Lori in his arms anymore. He opened his eyes and he saw that the bed next to him was empty.


	10. Chapter 10

Callen's heart skipped a beat and for a minute he feared that she left again. He got out of bed to see where she was and as he walked in the hallway he saw a light coming from the baby room. He peeked around the corner and saw Lori sitting in the rocking chair.

"Hey, here you are. What are you doing up? It's 3 in the morning," Callen said as he walked in the room.

"Hey, I couldn't sleep and I wandered in here," Lori said.

"You okay? Is something bothering you?" Callen said as he crouched down in front of her.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about how it's gonna be like when the babies are here. We're gonna be alright, right? I mean we can handle it right, two babies?"

"Of course we can handle it. We're gonna be fine honey. Come on, let's go back to bed," Callen said as he took her hand.

They got back into bed and Lori crawled against Callen again and Callen put his arms around her and gave her a kiss on her head before they both drifted off to sleep again.

The next morning Lori woke up still locked in Callen's arms.

"Good morning Lori," Callen said.

"Good morning G," Lori said and she snuggled a little closer in his arms and she saw the time on his clock and saw that I already was past 9am. "Don't you have to go to work today?"

"No, I asked Hetty to give me a couple of days off."

"That's nice. So you don't have to go back until Monday?"

"Yep, I'm off till Monday. So we can just spend some together."

"That's nice. I like that."

"Good."

They stayed in bed for a little while before going out to get some breakfast and the rest of the day they just relaxed, enjoying each other's company.

"Would it be okay if I just went out for a run?" Callen asked. "I'll be back before dinner, I'll just be gone for about half an hour or so."

"Sure, that's fine," Lori said and as soon as Callen had left the door she got started on dinner.

30 minutes later Callen walked back into the house. The lights were out, but everywhere he looked he saw candles burning and the fireplace was on, he also heard soft music playing in the background. Wondering what was going on he walked further in the house and he saw the dining room table already set and candles burning on the table too. About a second later Lori came walking out of the kitchen.

"Hey G, good you're home. Dinner is almost ready."

For a few seconds Callen was speechless.

"You did this?"

"Yes I did, I wanted to surprise you."

"That's very sweet of you," Callen said and he walked up to her and gave her a kiss. "I'm just gonna shower real quick and then we'll have dinner."

5 minutes later Callen walked out of the shower and they enjoyed a nice dinner and cleaned up and they sat together on the couch.

"That was a very nice dinner. I loved it. Thank you Lori," Callen said.

"You're welcome sweetie," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss and they snuggled together on the couch just watching some TV.

…..

That Monday they went to work again.

"Good morning everyone," Lori said as she walked in the bullpen.

"Morning," Sam said.

"Welcome back," Kensi said.

"Thanks, it's good to be back," Lori said.

"Welcome back Ms. Carter, Mr. Callen. I take it everything is alright?" Hetty said as she walked in the bullpen.

"Yes everything I fine."

"Good."

"But there's something we would like to tell you."

"And what would that be Ms. Mathews?"

"G and I decided to postpone the wedding. It's just too much right now, so we're gonna wait until after the babies are born."

For a few seconds nobody knew what to say. Hetty was the first one to speak up.

"Well that's alright, it's your decision, as long as both of you are happy we're fine with it."

At that moment Eric whistled and they went to work. Lori stayed at the office to do some research, Kensi and Deeks went to talk to the victim's family and Callen and Sam were on their way to talk to a suspect.

"You sure everything is alright between you and Lori?" Sam asked.

"Yeah everything is fine Sam, don't worry about us," Callen said.

"Alright, if you say so. With the two of you being gone and then when you come back you've postponed the wedding. I was just wondering if something happened between you two."

"We're fine Sam. We were just talking about it and we came to the conclusion that it was best to just postponed it with everything going on, you know with Lori being pregnant."

"Is everything okay with her and the babies?"

"They are fine. We just decided it was better to wait."

"Alright. Just remember if there's something you can always talk to me."

"Thanks Sam, but I'm fine. We're fine."

...

"Hetty, can I ask you something?" Lori said as she walked into Hetty's office.

"Sure, what's up?" Hetty said.

"I was wondering if it would be okay if I would work a day less a week."

"Is everything alright with you, with the babies?"

"Yes, we're fine. It's just that I'm more tired than normal lately and I just need an extra day off."

"It's alright with me. Now that we're on the subject, are you planning to come back to work after the babies are born?"

"Yes I think so, maybe not full weeks but a few days a week yes."

"That's fine. We'll talk about that some more when that time is here."

"That's fine," Lori said and she walked back to the bullpen.

…

Sam walked back into the office after he and Callen went to check out a lead.

"Where's G?" Lori asked and she noticed Sam had some injuries. "Is he okay?"

"Calm down, he's okay. But he is in the hospital, he's injuries were a little more severe than mine," Sam said.

"What?! What happened?"

"We walked up to warehouse but just before we went to walk in it exploded. G was closer to the building than I was so he got hit more."

"Damn, I'm going to the hospital," Lori said and she grabbed her keys and drove to the hospital.

Once she was at the hospital she asked the desk clerk where he was and she walked up to his room. She stood in front of his door and saw him lying on the bed. He had some cuts and bruises on his face and his wrist was in a bandage and also his torso was in a bandage.

"G," Lori said quietly as she walked in the room.

"Hey Lori," Callen said as he turned to her.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Sam told me what happened and as soon as I heard I drove over here. You sure you're alright?" Lori said as she sat down on the bed.

"I'm fine, I've had worse," Callen said as he tried to sit up in the bed but his ribs hurt too much.

"Easy honey," Lori said as she helped him sit up. "You cracked your ribs?"

"No, just bruised them and also my wrist. But it's fine. It'll heal."

"I'm glad it's not more serious. When Sam told me I got so worried."

"I'm fine honey, don't worry," Callen said as he grabbed her hands.

"When can you get out of here?"

"Later today, doctor will be back shortly and then I can go home hopefully."

A little later the doctor came back in the room.

"Well sir, you can go home. Do you have someone to drive you home?" The doctor said.

"Yeah I can take him home," Lori said.

"Very well, I'll just sign your discharge papers and I'll see you back in 1 week to check your injuries. And remember no working for at least one week."

"I'll remember that," Callen said.

"I'll make sure that he does," Lori said and the doctor left the room and Lori helped Callen getting dressed and she took him home.

"You just relax and sit on the couch. Can I get you anything?" Lori said.

"Nah I'm good thanks," Callen said and grunted a bit as he sat down.

"Careful, just lie down and relax. I'll be here if you need anything."

"You're not going back to the office?"

"No, I'm staying here with you. Make sure that you're okay," Lori said and her phone rang. "Hey Sam."

"Hey Lori, how's G?" Sam said.

"He's okay, stubborn, but okay. He's got some bruised ribs and a bruised wrist and some cuts and bruises but he'll be alright. Just a week of rest and he should be better."

"That's good. I'll tell Hetty. Is he still at the hospital?"

"No, we're at home. Could you tell Hetty that if it's okay with her I'd like to stay home with G today?"

"Sure I'll tell her. Just take care of G make sure he doesn't do anything stupid while injured."

"I will," Lori said and she hung up.

"I'm gonna go nuts if I have to stay home for a week," Callen said.

"You're just gonna have to tough it out. Cus there's no way I'm letting you go to the office until the doctor says so, so you can just forget about sneaking out to the office. Cus if you do I'm gonna send you right back home."

Callen playfully stuck his tuck out to Lori and Lori did the same.

"I just want you to get better as soon as possible," Lori said as she sat down on the coffee table and grabbed his hand.

"I know honey, but it's not that bad. I've had worse. But I'll try to take it easy for you."

"Thank you," Lori said and she gave him a kiss.

Lori pulled back after the kiss but Callen pulled her close again and kissed her once more. Lori moved her hands to his cheeks and kissed him back. Lori moved her hands a bit upwards and as she did she felt Callen pull back a little.

"I'm sorry honey, did I hurt you?" Lori said.

"It's okay sweetie. It didn't hurt that much," Callen said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean too."

"I know, I know. It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"You just lie here and relax, try to get some rest. I'll be here if you need me okay."

"Okay. I'll try."

Callen lay back and closed his eyes and a few minutes later he drifted off to sleep. Lori saw that he had fallen asleep and she pulled a blanket over him. She wasn't used to seeing him sleep during the day, but right now he needed it. Lori grabbed her laptop to finish the report she was working on before going to the hospital.

Callen woke up again and he heard Lori in the kitchen. He carefully got up and walked to the kitchen.

"Hey Lori," Callen said.

"Hey G," Lori said when she had turned around and saw him in the kitchen. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better. How long was I asleep?"

"For about an hour or so. I've just started on dinner, will be ready in about 20 minutes."

"That's good, cus I'm actually feeling a bit hungry."

"Good."

"Thank you for staying home with me today, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, it's my pleasure," Lori said and she gave him a kiss.

…..

"How's Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as Lori walked into the office.

"He's fine. Resting at home, I hope," Lori said.

"Good. He's lucky to have you, to have someone who takes care of him."

"I appreciate that Hetty. Yeah I try to take care of him as best as possible but he's stubborn sometimes when he's injured."

"Oh believe me Ms. Carter, I know. The only thing we can do is tell him to take it easy and try as best to make sure that he does. Take care of him for me okay."

"I will Hetty."

At the end of the day Lori went back home and found Callen lying on the couch just watching TV.

"Hey G."

"Hey Lori, how was work today?" Callen said and Lori gave him a kiss.

"It was fine. Not really too busy. Don't worry you're not missing out on a big undercover mission or something. How are you feeling today?"

"A bit better. My ribs feel a little less sore today."

"That's good. What would you like for dinner tonight?"

"We could order in a pizza."

"That's fine with me. I'll give them a call, what do you want?"

"Pepperoni pizza please."

They enjoyed their pizza together on the couch.

Lori laughed a little. "Here G, feel this," Lori said as she grabbed his hand and placed in on her stomach.

"That's feels nice. They're moving."

"It almost feels like they're playing with each other."

"That's sweet. They must already like each other," Callen said and he kissed her stomach.

"Yes I guess so."

"Daddy loves you," Callen said to her stomach.

Lori had to laugh a little as she heard Callen talking to her stomach. She pulled his face up to hers and kissed him.

"I love you G."

"I love you too Lori."

…..

A week later Callen was cleared by the doctor and he could do some work again.

"Morning," Sam said as Callen and Lori walked into the office.

"Morning Sam," Callen said.

"Back to work again G?"

"Yep, doctor cleared me to go back to work."

"Yes he did, but nothing too heavy yet, like getting into fights. So could you watch his back in the field that he doesn't do too much just yet?" Lori said.

"Sure Lori, I'll keep an eye on him," Sam said.

"Geez, are both of you my mother or something?" Callen said.

"Just looking out for ya G," Lori said.

"That's sweet, but I don't need looking out for. I'm fine. Doctor wouldn't have cleared me if I wasn't."

"I know. I just want you to be careful out in the field."

"I will don't worry."

"Welcome back Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she appeared behind the agent.

"It's good to be back, Hetty."

At that moment Eric whistled. "New case guys. Welcome back Callen."

The agents followed him upstairs.

"What are we looking at Eric?" Callen said.

"Early this morning a navy transport was ambushed. They shot the drivers and took off with the truck," Eric said.

"What was in the truck?" Lori asked.

"Military grade weapons. They were on their way to Pendleton," Nell said.

"Do we know anything about the guys who took the truck?" Callen asked.

"Got facial reg looking for an ID as we speak. Kaleidoscope got a hit on the truck. They ditched it somewhere on the side of the road," Eric said.

"Kensi, Deeks, Lori, you check with Pendleton where that transport came from and who knew about it. Sam and I will check the truck."

Sam and Callen left and went to check the site where they had ditched the truck. Nothing was left inside the truck, but there were some tire tracks. Callen took a photo of it and sent it to Eric for ID and they returned to the office.

"Have you found anything?" Callen said once they were back at the office.

"They shipment was coming from right here in LA. Only the people here and at Pendleton knew about the shipment," Kensi said.

"So you think it might be an inside job?" Sam said.

"It's possible. Eric's running a background check on all the people who knew about the transport."

"Okay good, maybe he'll get a hit," Callen said as he sat behind his desk.

"But why would somebody from the inside be involved with this. What do they have to gain?" Lori said.

"Money maybe," Deeks said.

"But to sell out your colleagues and get them killed. That's betraying your country as someone in the navy."

At that moment Eric and Nell came down the stairs.

"Facial reg got a hit on our two mystery guys," Eric said as he put some pictures up on the screen. "Meet Amir Saleem and Tarin Saleem, they're both Afghani and linked to several terrorist organizations."

"So we've got two terrorists with a truck full of military grade weapons driving around LA," Lori said.

"Do you know where they are?" Callen asked.

"We're tracking them, nothing found yet. But we did found something on the list of people Kensi gave us," Eric said. "Nell, if you would…"

"This man, Sergeant Dave Mains, he got suspended after there was a suspicion that he stole some equipment out of Pendleton, but because there wasn't enough evidence he could return to work again. He was the only one that looked suspicious; the others didn't have anything on them. I looked into his records and found a deposit of 10.000 dollars in his bank account 2 days ago," Nell said.

"Any idea where it came from?" Sam asked.

"We're looking into it but it looks like it came from anonymous account in the Caymans."

"Alright let's bring him in," Callen said.

Callen and Sam went to the boatshed once he was brought in.

"What does NCIS want with me?" Mains said when Sam and Callen walked into the interrogation room.

"We just wanna ask you a few questions," Callen said.

"About what?"

"About the weapons that went missing from Pendleton earlier today," Sam said.

"Why would you ask me about that? I don't know anything about that."

"You did know about the transport so we did some digging and found a rather large deposit into your back account from an anonymous account in the Caymans. Care to explain about that?" Callen said.

"A friend gave me that money. I needed some money."

"So why did he use an account in the Caymans and not his regular account?"

"I don't know."

"Who's your friend?"

"Uhm…"

"You don't know your friends name?" Sam asked.

"Why don't you stop lying to us and tell us where the money really came from? For your own sake," Callen said.

"Alright, some guys paid it to me if I gave them the route for the transport."

"Do you have a name?"

"No name. All I have is the number they called me with."

"Can we have it?"

"Sure," Mains said and he grabbed his phone to look at the number and Callen and Sam made their way out of the room. "Am I going to jail?"

"You just helped terrorist get a hold of military grade weapons, what do you think?" Sam said.

"I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to make a few bucks. I need the money."

"Well maybe you should have thought about that before you gave them the information," Callen said and they walked out. "Eric, can you trace this number: 555-4569."

"You got it," Eric said.

Callen and Sam went back to the office.

"I can't believe he would sell out his country just to make some cash," Sam said as they were walking into the bullpen.

"He gave them the information of the transport route?" Lori asked.

"Yeah he did. Eric's tracking the phone number now," Callen said.

"And I've got a hit," Eric said as he came down the stairs. "His cell phone signal picked up several cell towers as they drove towards the south of California."

"Where are they now?"

"Last cell phone signal was from a cell tower near Oceanside."

"Keep looking at that signal Eric," Callen said and he made his way to Hetty's office.

"What are you gonna do G?" Sam said.

"Gonna ask Hetty for a chopper," Callen said and a little later he walked out of her office. "We're good to go, chopper will be waiting for us at LAPD."

They team went to the armory to gear up.

"G," Lori said when they were ready to go. "Just be careful okay. Your ribs are not completely healed yet."

"I know, I will," Callen said.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Sam said.

15 minutes later they team was up in the air on their way to the truck.

"Still got a signal, Eric?" Callen asked when they were almost at Oceanside.

"Yeah, and I've got your signal too. They are about 20 miles in front of you."

"Okay, keep watching."

…

"Callen, you should be right on top of them now," Eric said.

"Yeah we see the truck, thanks Eric." Callen said. "That's the truck there, get in front of it."

The pilot got in front of it to try and force the truck to stop. A few seconds later there was a crash.


	11. Chapter 11

The chopper quickly lifted up as the truck came closer and a few seconds later the truck crashed against the stone wall next to the road. The pilot put the chopper down on the floor and the agents got out guns raised.

"Federal agents! Come out with your hands up!" Callen said.

They saw the driver side door open slowly and the man aimed a gun at them. Callen didn't hesitate for a second and he shot him.

"The passenger is dead," Kensi said.

Callen and Sam walked over to the back and Sam opened the door while Callen covered him. Nobody was in there, but the weapons were.

"Hetty, the weapons are secure," Callen said.

"Very good, Mr. Callen," Hetty said.

A little later someone from Pendleton came to pick up the weapons and the bodies were picked up and the team went back to LA.

Once back in LA they returned their gear and went back to the bullpen.

"You okay G?" Sam said.

"Yeah I'm fine Sam," Callen said.

"You sure, cus you don't look like it?"

"I'm fine. My ribs and wrist still feel a little sore but I'm fine."

"Alright."

They finished up their reports and went home.

"You okay G?" Lori asked once they were home.

"Yeah I'm fine," Callen said.

"Your ribs or wrist aren't hurting?"

"A little, but it's okay. It's not that bad."

"You sure?" Lori asked as she sat next to him on the couch.

"Yeah I'm fine Lori. Don't worry," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

They had dinner together and after dinner they sat together in a nice bubble bath. Lori sat with her back against Callen's chest and Callen had his arms around her and his hands were lying on her stomach and Lori had placed her hands on top of his.

"This is nice, just sitting here with you in the tub," Callen said.

"Yeah it is nice," Lori said as she leaned back and let her head rest on Callen's shoulder. "I'm glad to be here with you. I don't think I've could have done this without you."

"I'm glad to be here with you too. And I'm really glad to be a part of your life and that of our unborn babies. I'm really happy about becoming a dad."

"I'm glad to hear that. Cus I'm really happy about becoming a mom. A bit scared but very happy. And I'm happy I can share this with you."

"I'm happy that I can share this with you too. And I'm also scared but we're gonna be fine, the 4 of us. I'm sure we can handle twins."

Lori pulled Callen's face towards her and kissed him and she looked into his eyes. She saw his eyes were filled with up love, love for her and their babies. She looked back at him with the same look of love in her eyes and Callen kissed her again.

They stayed in the bath tub until the water began to get cold and Callen got out and he helped Lori get out. They changed into their PJ's and sat down to watch TV before going to bed.

…

Lori was already in bed when Callen joined her. She wasn't asleep yet. Callen took in the sight before him as she lay in their bad, resting on her pregnancy pillow. Lori felt the bed dip as Callen got onto the bed and he crawled next to her, wrapping his arm around her from behind and giving a light kiss on her shoulders.

"G, not tonight. I'm tired, I just wanna sleep," Lori said.

"I can just cuddle up with you, can't I?" Callen said.

"Not tonight G," Lori said but Callen didn't move away from her body. "Not tonight G!" Lori blew up in his face and pushed his arm away.

"Alright Lori, goodnight," Callen said and he gave her one last kiss on her shoulder.

"Goodnight," Lori said and she drifted off to sleep.

Callen lay on his back, his hand resting behind his head. Sometimes Lori was so hard to read, he thought. Sometimes she would want to be in his arms and other times she pushed him away as he wanted to cuddle or kiss. It was hard sometimes to find out what she wanted, did she want to cuddle with him or not? Did she want him to kiss her or not? He decided he would let her come to him when she wanted to cuddle or kiss and not press the matter, how much he wanted to cuddle and kiss with her, letting her know how much he loved her, that he was there for her if she needing anything. He just wanted to be with her, to cuddle with her, touch or kiss her stomach where their two little babies were growing inside. He figured Lori acted this way because of the hormones cursing through her body. Tonight was not a night she wanted to cuddle.

The next morning…

Callen was making breakfast in the kitchen when Lori walked in.

"Good morning G," Lori said.

"Good morning Lori," Callen said.

Lori walked up to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that."

"It's okay honey. I understand. But sometimes I just feel like cuddling with you at night, lying close to you, to our babies, hugging the three of you."

"Why would you? I mean look at me, I look like a big fat cow."

"No no no, you don't like a big fat cow," Callen said as he cupped her face with his hands. "You look absolutely beautiful."

"You really think so?"

"Yes I do, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And every day you look more and more beautiful. It just pains me that you don't think you're beautiful."

"I do love our babies inside of me, but every time I look in the mirror I see this huge fat cow staring back at me."

"That's not how I see you when I look at you."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. I see this beautiful woman who is carrying our little babies inside of her and that makes me love her just more."

Lori felt her eyes getting a little watery. She stepped closer to Callen and laid her head on his chest. Callen wrapped his arms around her and placed a soft kiss on her head.

"I love you honey," Lori said.

"I love you too sweetie," Callen said.

They stood there for a little while hugging each other before having breakfast. After breakfast Lori had another doctor's appointment before work. She was now 28 weeks pregnant. Callen went with her.

"So how have you been feeling?" The doctor asked.

"Okay. A little bit tired lately and also my feet and my back hurt after I've been standing too long and sometimes a bit nauseous, but not that bad," Lori said.

"I'm glad to hear. Well let's go see what the babies are up to shall we," the doctor said and he placed the device on Lori's stomach.

"Look G, it looks like they are playing with each other," Lori said as she saw their babies on the screen.

"Yeah it looks like they are. That's very sweet. They must like each other already," Callen said.

The doctor put the sound on and they could hear the babies' heartbeats.

"Wow, they are so fast," Callen said.

"They are perfectly normal," the doctor said.

"Is everything alright with them?" Lori asked.

"Yes everything is fine. They are growing nice and big and they look perfectly healthy."

The doctor gave them a picture of the ultrasound and Lori made another appointment and Callen and Lori went to the office.

Lori sat behind her desk and placed the picture up on her desk. Her desk was next to Kensi's desk so Kensi saw the picture.

"You had another ultrasound?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah just this morning," Lori said.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure," Lori said and she handed Kensi the photo.

"That's really cute. They have grown. Everything okay so far?"

"Yeah everything is fine."

"Good to hear. You two must be excited about becoming parents."

"Yeah we are very happy about it. But also a bit nervous of what's it gonna be like with two little babies."

"But we can handle it, together," Callen said.

"Yes we can."

Just after that Eric whistled them up and they got started on the new case.

…

Lori and Callen were at home that Saturday afternoon; Callen was in the kitchen getting something to drink when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Lori said as she walked to the door and opened it. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

"Hi sweetie, I was just in town for some business stuff and I thought I'd stop by," Susan said as she hugged her daughter. "I hope it's alright."

"Yeah it's fine, come on in."

"Thanks. Wow you look great."

"No, I look fat."

"No, you look absolutely gorgeous. You're also glowing I can see it."

"See, that's what I have been saying too," Callen said as he walked back in the room.

"Hey Greg," Susan said as she gave him a hug too.

"Hi Susan, it's nice to see you."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything by stopping by unannounced."

"No, it's fine. You're always welcome here."

"I didn't know you were in town," Lori said.

"I was here just 2 days on business. I'm flying back to Seattle later today. How have you been?" Susan said.

"I'm good. Little tired sometimes, but it's not that bad."

"And how are my little grandkids doing?" Susan said as she stroked Lori's stomach.

"They are doing fine. Just had an ultrasound a couple days ago and everything was fine."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Would you like something to drink Susan?" Callen asked.

"Some water would be fine."

"So how's everybody back in Seattle?" Lori asked.

"They are all fine."

"How's dad?"

"He's fine. He's excited about becoming a grandpa. We all miss you back home."

"I know mom. I miss you too. But my home is here now in LA with Greg. I like it here better than in Seattle or in Portland. That was too dull for me. LA is exciting."

"Here you go Susan," Callen said as he placed the glass on the table.

"Thank you Greg."

"I'm sorry Lori but I have to go to office, they called that they needed me."

"That's fine."

"Alright, I'll see you later," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss. "Nice seeing you again Susan."

"Nice seeing you too Greg," Susan said. "I understand that this is your home now. I just hope we can be part of your life, of the babies' lives."

"Of course your part of that mom, I want you to. I know we don't live right next door. But you can down to visit anytime you want and we'll try to come to Seattle when we have time. And we can always call, send e-mails and stuff. I'll be sure to send you some pictures of your grandkids."

"I'd like that. How's everything between you and Greg?"

"Everything is fine mom. When he came to Seattle we talked it out and it's all good now. I'm very happy right now. It's better to wait to get married until the babies are here. He's really sweet to me. He takes good care of me. It was stupid of me to run away. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Sweetie, you're pregnant. Sometimes you can't think straight with all these hormones, I know I would drive your father crazy sometimes. You were scared. But I'm glad everything worked out. You two really belong together. I can see that you both love each other very much."

"Yeah sometimes these hormones are really messing with me. Sometimes I just can't help it, I'll start crying or I blow up at somebody for no reason. Sometimes even towards Greg. It sucks sometimes."

"Lori, he loves you. He doesn't mind. He knows it's just hormones. I'm sure of that. He wouldn't have come after you if he didn't love you and if he couldn't handle you being pregnant."

"Yeah I know mom. I just feel bad sometimes for blowing up at him when he hasn't really done anything wrong."

"I know sweetie," Susan said as she pulled Lori in for a hug. "It's not always easy being pregnant. But just think of the little miracle you'll have or in your case two little miracles."

"Yeah I know. And trust me they are all worth it. Sometimes I just wished that they were already here so my body can go back to normal."

"Just about 3 months to go sweetie. And when they are finally here you feel nothing but love I'm sure."

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome sweetie. But I've gotta go now. Got a plane to catch."

"That's alright. It was nice that you stopped by."

"My pleasure. I love you sweetie," Susan said and she gave Lori a hug.

"I love you too mom."

"Take care. And if there's anything you can always call."

"I will mom. Have a save flight."

About an hour later Callen got home.

"Hey Lori," Callen said as he walked into the house.

"Hey G, you're back soon," Lori said.

"Yeah, director Vance just needed to brief us on something, nothing urgent," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"Alright, that's fine."

"Where's your mom?"

"She want back home again, had a plane to catch."

"Okay. It was nice of her to stop by."

"Yeah it was. I'm glad that my parents like you and that you like them."

"Of course, they are very nice people."

"G," Lori said as she snuggled into Callen's chest once he sat beside her on the couch.

"Yeah Lori?" Callen said as he was stroking her back up and down.

"It's just… I'm sorry for blowing up at you sometimes. I just can't help it sometimes. It's those crazy hormones. I don't mean anything by it. I want you to know that. I just hope you're not mad at me for doing that sometimes."

"Of course I'm not mad at you for that. I know it's just the hormones talking."

"I just don't want you to think that I'm mad at you or that I don't like you, cus I do. I love you and I love the way you take care of me," Lori said as she sat up so she was face to face with him.

"I know sweetie. And I don't think that at all," Callen said and he placed his hand on her cheek and kissed her. "I love you too and I don't mind taking care of you and our little babies that you're carrying. And if that means that you might blow up at me sometimes cus of the hormones I can deal with that."

"You are really very sweet to me, sometimes sweeter that I deserve perhaps."

"What?! What makes you so that? You deserve it Lori. Why wouldn't you?"

"Because of everything that I did lately, pushing you away, running away and postponing the wedding."

"Oh sweetie," Callen said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. "It's alright Lori. I'm not mad about that, well maybe I was a little when I found out you were gone. But everything is fine now. You're here, we're together and everything is fine between us Lori. Don't worry about that. I know that you were scared, but it's alright now. We're in this together and don't worry about having to postpone the wedding. I think it's better this way."

Callen could hear Lori starting to sob against his shirt. He pulled her a little closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Shhh, it's alright baby. It's okay. I love you and no matter what you do I could never stop loving you. And don't worry, you deserve me being this sweet to you, I know that you do. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met and with you carrying my little babies, that just makes me love you even more."

"Thank you G, for everything," Lori said as she snuggled against his chest even more.

"You're welcome."

They lay like that for a little while, before Callen noticed Lori was getting a little bit uncomfortable. She was flexing her feet a lot.

"You okay Lori?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, I just have this cramp in my feet," Lori said.

"Come on, let me take care of that," Callen said as he grabbed her feet and placed them on top of his lap and he started rubbing her feet and Lori lay down on he couch. "Is this better?"

"Yeah that feels good."

Callen kept rubbing her feet and he could hear little moans coming out of Lori's mouth. He took that as a sign that she liked what he was doing.

….

"What have we got Eric?" Callen said as they walked into OPS.

"Two men who have ties to Al Qaeda are spotted here in LA. Sac-Nav picked up some chatter about them selling some stuff on the American market," Eric said.

"What are they selling?" Sam asked.

"Illegal military grade weapons."

"Any idea where they are or who they are selling it to?" Callen asked.

"No, nothing so far yet. Other then the spotting at LAX they have not been seen anywhere. They took a cab but I lost it in the airport traffic. Got kaleidoscope looking for cab."

"Alright, see what you can dig up on these two."

"Will do," Nell said.

"Wait. Kaleidoscope just got a hit on the cab. It's parked at a dinner on Pico, so I doubt that they will still be in there," Eric said.

"Alright, we'll talk to the driver, maybe he'll know where he took them," Callen said and he and Sam left.

Callen and Sam arrived at the dinner and saw the cab driver walking up to his car.

"Excuse me sir," Sam said and the man turned around. "We're federal agents. Would it be okay if we ask you a couple of questions?"

The cab driver panicked as he heard the words federal agents and he made a run for it.

"Federal agents! Freeze!" Callen yelled as he ran after them.

He ran onto the streets. Callen and Sam followed him trying to avoid the cars driving on the street. A few seconds later there was a loud crash as a car couldn't avoid him and he hit him.


	12. Chapter 12

Callen and Sam stopped as they saw the cab driver getting hit by a car. Callen quickly ran over to him to see if he was alive and he called Eric.

"Eric, we need an ambulance immediately, cab driver tried to run and he got hit by a car," Callen said.

"On its way," Eric said.

About 10 minutes later the ambulance was there and they took him to the hospital. Callen and Sam followed in their car.

"How is he?" Callen asked the ER doctor.

"He's in bad shape, he needs surgery to repair the damage," the doctor said.

"Could you please call us when he's out of surgery?" Callen said as he handed the doctor his card.

"Sure, it might be a while however."

Callen and Sam went back to the office.

"What happened, Mr. Callen?" Hetty said.

"We identified ourselves as Federal Agents and he just ran and he ran into the streets. He's in surgery now. They would call us when he's out," Callen said.

"Alright, you two go question him when he's able to speak again."

"Will do," Callen said and he and Sam sat behind their desks. "Anything new came up here?"

"Eric and Nell are still looking through the information Sec-Nav send over. When Eric said the cab driver got hit I called the cab company to ask where he dropped them off and they just called back with an address, 6601 Sea Cove Drive, that's in Rancho Palos Verdes," Lori said

"Alright, we'll check it out," Callen said and all four of them went to gear up.

About 40 minutes later they were in Rancho Palos Verdes.

"Kensi, Deeks you cover the front, Sam and I will come in from the beach," Callen said and they moved into position. "Kens you see anything?"

"I see two guards out front and probably 3 or 4 inside," Kensi said.

"We've got 3 men outside here. Alright we hit them and we hit them hard. Move in on my count, 3, 2, 1," Callen said and they quietly took out the guards outside.

They moved inside and shot the others we were inside. They were all dead except for one. Callen cleared him of his gun and tied him up.

"Where are the weapons?" Callen asked but the man remained silent. "Where is the buyer? Look your buddies are dead so you might as well tell us, otherwise you'll go down for everything…. Alright have it your way."

Callen picked him up and was about to walked outside with him towards the beach.

"Alright, alright, I'll talk," the man said and Callen put him down on a chair.

"Alright, we're listening," Sam said.

"I don't know much. But I do know that the buy is supposed to go down later today. Some guy would drop of the weapons here with us and then we would meet the buyer."

"At what time would they be here?"

"Around 5."

"That's in 2 hours."

"You got a plan?" Sam asked.

"Yeah I do, call the local PD have them clean up this scene asap."

"What are you thinking G?"

"I'll tell you later."

An hour later they scene was cleaned up and the man who was still alive was taken into custody.

"Now you wanna tell us what your plan is G?" Sam asked.

"We pose as them. Go to the exchange to take down the buyers and secure the weapons," Callen said.

"That might be dangerous G, we don't know who we're dealing with."

"Do we have a choice Sam? We can't let these weapons get away. Besides do you have a better idea?"

"No I don't."

"Then we'll do it my way. Kensi, Deeks, you take the car and follow us from a distance. Sam and I will go with them. When I'll give the signal you take them down."

Kensi and Deeks waited in the car for Callen and Sam to be picked up.

"I've never seen you two before," the man said who was coming to pick up Callen and Sam.

"We just stared last week, but the boss said we were good enough for this job," Callen said.

"Alright, if the boss says you're okay. Come on let's go."

They drove off, followed by Kensi and Deeks a few cars back. About 20 minutes later they were at the location. It was at an abandoned dock. Kensi parked the car and they moved into position.

"In position Callen," Kensi said and Callen cleared his throat as a sign he had heard her.

"He should be right here," the man said.

"Alright," Sam said and 5 minutes later the man showed up with his two bodyguards.

"You've got my merchandise?" the man said.

"You got my money?" The bodyguard showed him his money. "Alright weapons are in here."

"Might if I test it?"

"Go ahead."

The man took a gun out and loaded the ammo and the pointed his gun at the man who was traveling with Callen and Sam.

"Who wait wait, what are you doing?"

Callen and Sam were being held at gunpoint too.

"Okay I'm sure we can talk about this," Callen said.

"Why talk? I can just kill you and take the money and the weapons."

Callen nodded towards Kensi and just as he was about to pull the trigger Kensi and Deeks shot his bodyguards causing him to turn towards them and Callen and Sam to raise their weapons.

"Federal agents! Get down on the ground!" Callen said.

The men both dropped to the floor and Sam cuffed them.

"Hetty, we've secured the weapons and took them into custody."

"Good work Mr. Callen. Now wrap up there and you can come back home," Hetty said.

They wrapped up their and the weapons were taking into custody and the team went back to the office.

"Well done everyone, the weapons are safely back at Pendleton," Hetty said when they walked into the office. "Now you can put your gear back in the armory and you can head home. The reports you can finish tomorrow."

"Is Lori still here?" Callen asked.

"No, she already went home. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight Hetty," Callen said and he put away his gear and he went home.

"Hey Lori," Callen said as he walked into the house.

"Hey G, I'm in the kitchen," Lori said.

"Hey beautiful," Callen said as he walked into the kitchen and put his arms around her from behind and kissed her in her neck. "Mmm smells delicious, what are you making?"

"Pasta."

"Nice, I'm starving."

"Could you set the table? Dinner is almost ready."

"Sure," Callen said, but before he did that he turned Lori around in his arms and placed a passionate kiss on her lips and then a little kiss on her stomach.

….

"Good morning," Callen said as he saw Lori's eyes opening.

"Good morning," Lori said and Callen gave her a kiss. "How long have you been awake?"

"Just about 15 minutes or so. I just didn't wanna go out yet. I was enjoying the view far too much."

Lori gave him a light shove in his chest and then crawled against him and Callen put his arm around her.

"Do you have to go to work today?" Lori said.

"Yeah unfortunately I do."

"I could just stay here all day with you."

"Yeah I know me too, but someone has to protect our country against terrorist."

"Yeah true. I'm just gonna miss you today."

"I'm gonna miss you too, but I don't have to go out for another 15 minutes or so, so we can just stay here until then."

"I'd like that."

Callen nuzzled in her neck and placed soft kisses on her neck, receiving little moans from Lori as he did so.

"Aahh, damn it," Lori said.

"You okay honey? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No you didn't. One of the babies just kicked me."

"Can I feel?"

"Sorry honey. They are kicking the inside, right in my kidneys."

"Stop kicking mommy okay, be good to mommy," Callen said once he lowered his head to her stomach.

"You think they're gonna listen to you?"

"I hope so, cus I'm their daddy."

"Well of course they are gonna listen to their daddy, but not in this case I think. I'm pretty sure that they'll kick again."

"Well if they do, I hope it's the outside so I can feel it too."

"You'll be the first to know when they do."

"Good. I wanna be as close as I can with them while you're carrying them."

"I like that, well mostly I like it. Sometimes I don't want to cuddle or something."

"I know. But that's not gonna stop me from trying. I'll only stop when you tell me to."

"I haven't told you to stop now," Lori said and Callen moved his head towards her and kissed her.

Lori pulled him towards her and Callen rolled her over so she was on her back and Callen sat up a little so he good kiss her better without having to completely hover over her. After a few minutes they were interrupted by Callen's phone ringing.

"Let it ring," Lori said.

"It's Eric. Better take it. Otherwise Hetty will be pissed. Yeah Eric."

"Hetty needs you in OPS," Eric said.

"Be right there," Callen said and he hung up. "Sorry babe, but I have to go."

"It's okay I understand. Go catch some bad guys."

"I hope so. I'll see you later. I'll call you if I don't make it in time for dinner okay."

"Alright, stay safe."

"I will," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss. "You take it easy. And you be good to mommy today, no more kicking." He gave her stomach a kiss too. "See ya honey."

"Bye sweetie."

Callen got dressed and he went to work. Lori stayed in bed for a few more minutes until going out. Around lunch time her phone rang.

"Hey G," Lori said as she answered the phone.

"How are my 3 sweeties doing?" Callen said.

"We are doing very well. How is daddy doing?"

"I'm doing fine. Just having lunch break and searching for a new lead. Previous leads didn't lead anywhere."

"That's too bad. Well I'm sure you'll be able to catch the bad guys, you always do. Just don't get yourself shot or anything okay."

"I promise. I'll see you later, gotta get back to work."

"Alright see you tonight."

"Bye," Callen said and he hung up.

"How's Lori doing G?" Sam asked.

"She's fine. In her last trimester now, so she's a bit tired and her back and feet hurt sometimes but other than that she's fine."

"Have you picked out names yet?"

"We have talked about it, but nothing picked out yet. So far we have 3 names for girls and 4 for boys."

"You don't know what you're having yet?"

"Nope, we only know we're having either two boys or two girls."

"That's nice. Everything ready for them?"

"Yep baby room is ready and we have all the stuff ready for them. Damn I didn't know that all this baby stuff was that expensive and we need to have two of almost everything."

"Yeah it's not cheap, but you are creating a human being, well in your case two human beings."

"Yeah I know Sam and I don't mind spending it for them, but I just didn't know that it was so expensive."

At that moment Eric came down the stairs and they got a new lead.

They managed to catch the bad guys pretty quick and because of their good work Hetty send them home around 5pm.

"Hey Lori," Callen said as he walked through the door and he found Lori sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Hey G, you're home early," Lori said and Callen gave her a kiss.

"Yeah. The case was finished so Hetty let us go home early."

"That's nice of her."

"How has your day been?"

"Good. Just relaxed today."

"Have you two behaved yourself?" Callen said and he gave her stomach a kiss.

"Yeah they did. No more kicking today. Just moving around sometimes."

"That's good. I told you they would listen to daddy."

"Yeah today they did. Would it be okay with you if I just went to take a bath?"

"Yeah that's fine. I'll make sure that dinner is ready when you get out."

"Thanks," Lori said and she gave him a soft kiss before she went to the bathroom.

Once Lori was in the tub Callen went to prepare dinner. About 40 minutes later dinner was almost ready and Callen knocked on the door of the bathroom.

"Sweetie, dinner is almost ready," Callen said.

"I'm almost ready."

A couple minutes later Lori walked out of the bathroom and she saw rose pedals lying on the floor and she saw a path leading into the kitchen. She followed the path and saw that it led outside to their backyard. She walked outside and her mouth fell open from amazement.

"Oh my god, G. Did you do this?"

"Yes I did. I wanted to do something nice for you."

"Aw G that's really sweet of you. It looks beautiful honey."

"Thank you. Glad you like it. Would you like to sit down so we can start our dinner?" Callen said as he moved the seat away from the table.

Lori sat down and she looked around the garden. It was lit with lights. Through the garden Callen had hung up several lanterns that gave a nice romantic dim light and the porch was also lit with a string of lights. On the table there stood 2 candles and also a few roses.

"Where did you get all this?" Lori said.

"I bought it last week, figured it would come in handy one day and the roses I bought on my way home," Callen said.

"It really looks beautiful. Thank you honey, this is very sweet of you," Lori said and a single tear dropped down her cheek.

"You okay Lori?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just those damn hormones; they make a cry very easily. Now let's taste the food that you made."

They had a very romantic dinner and Callen cleaned up after dinner. Once they were in bed Lori planted a very passionate kiss on his lips.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner G. I really liked that," Lori said.

"You're welcome sweetie. I just wanted to do something special for you to show you how much I love you."

"Aw honey. I know how much you love me, but I don't mind you showing it."

Callen sat up against the headboard and pulled Lori onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad you don't mind cus I love showing you how much I love you."

"I love you too," Lori said and she lowered her head and captured Callen's lips in a passionate kiss.

Callen moved his hand towards her stomach and he could feel the babies moving as they were kissing. He still couldn't believe how fast everything went. He remembered it like yesterday Lori had told him she was pregnant and now she was already 31 weeks pregnant with twins nonetheless and they were getting married after they babies were born. He couldn't wait to finally see and hold their little babies.

…..

"Morning everyone," Callen said as he and Lori walked into the bullpen.

"Morning," Sam, Deeks and Kensi said.

"You look really good Lori," Kensi said.

"Thanks. Yeah lately I've not been that bothered by the fact that I'm getting this big, but sometimes I just wish the babies were here already so I can get my old body back," Lori said.

"Yeah I can imagine, but you look absolutely beautiful. I can totally see you're glowing."

"Thanks Kens."

"May I?" Kensi asked while she moved her hand towards Lori's stomach.

"Sure," Lori said and Kensi placed her hand on Lori's stomach and she felt the babies moving.

"Wow that feels weird. Doesn't it feel weird having two human beings growing inside of you?"

"Yeah sometimes it is. I'm like how can they grow in there, but then I feel them move or kick and that just feels wonderful."

"Yeah too bad they are still kicking the inside," Callen said.

"You haven't been able to feel them kick yet G?" Sam said.

"Nope, they are either kicking her kidneys or her blather."

"Count your blessings," Lori said.

"It hurts when they kick you?' Sam said.

"Yeah sometimes it does."

"Well Michelle had that too. And my daughter didn't kick the outside either, not until Michelle was like 34 weeks."

"Well, see G I'm not 34 weeks yet so there's still time left for you to feel them kick too."

"I hope so," Callen said and at that moment Eric whistled and they went upstairs to be debriefed. "What have we got Eric?"

"Commander Roy Bolton is missing. His place was broken into last night and nobody has been able to get a hold of him," Eric said.

"Only last night? Why are they already involving us?"

"Because Mr. Callen," Hetty said as she walked in. "Mr. Bolton was the Commander of an Elite SEAL team who were to be deployed on a secret mission tomorrow."

"So you're guessing that someone grabbed him to stop him from going on that mission?" Lori said.

"That's very likely Ms. Carter."

"Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks, you two check out the apartment see if you can find something and you two," Hetty said and she pointed at Callen and Sam. "Will head to the boatshed. His SEAL team along with his commanding officer will be there."

Callen and Sam made their way towards the door.

"Damn it, son of a…" Lori said and she grabbed her stomach.

"You okay Lori?" Callen asked.

"Yeah I'm good. Both babies kicked me at the same time. I'm fine. You can go to the boatshed. Don't worry."

"Alright," Callen said and he and Sam left.

"You sure you're okay Ms. Carter?" Hetty asked once Callen and Sam had left.

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just gonna go sit downstairs do some research," Lori said.

"Alright," Hetty said and Lori went downstairs. "Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones, see what you can find out about Mr. Bolton, check his credit cards, the usual."

"Will do Hetty," Eric said and he and Nell went to work and Hetty went downstairs.

Before going to her office she made a stop in the bullpen. She was surprised to find Lori not behind her desk but lying on the sofa.

"Are you sure you're alright Ms. Carter?" Hetty said.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just needed to lay down for a sec," Lori said.

"Do you need to take the rest of the day off?"

"No, no need. I'm fine. I'm just more tired than usually lately. But don't worry Hetty I'm fine. The babies are just a little active today, so I'm just gonna take it a little bit easier today."

"Alright then, you just rest then. Mr. Beale and Ms. Jones have the research handled."

"Thanks Hetty."

Lori laid there until Callen and Sam returned.

"What did you find out?" Lori asked as she walked back into the bullpen.

"We got a bit of information about of the mission, he couldn't share everything even with us. But he did give us a list of the people they were targeting and who might want to stop the mission. No one from his team knew where he was. No one had heard of him since yesterday afternoon," Callen said.

"I'm just gonna go drop this off with Eric and Nell," Sam said and he walked upstairs.

"Are you okay Lori?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired today and my feet, my back and my shoulders hurt. I'm just having a crappy day."

"Maybe this will help," Callen said and he got up from his chair and got behind Lori and started massaging her shoulders.

"That feels nice. Thanks G."

"Sure, it's my lunch break now so I can just use that to massage you."

"I'd like that. You just have such good hands. Could you do my feet too?"

"Sure," Callen said and he grabbed his chair and put Lori's feet on top of his lap and he took off her shoe and started massaging her foot.

"Mmmm that feels good G," Lori moaned.

"Everything okay in here?" Sam asked once he was back from upstairs.

"Yeah it's fine. G is just massaging my feet."

"Ah okay. Could you do my feet too once you're done there?" Sam said with a smile on his face. Callen look at Sam with a weird face. "Just kidding G."

"Good, cus I'm not touching your sweaty feet," Callen said.

Callen kept massaging her feet until Eric called them with something new. They had found Commander Bolton. The team went to gear up and they left. Lori stayed upstairs with Eric, Nell and Hetty watching the op from the big screen.

They saw the team going in. All four of them were wearing button cams. There was a lot of shooting and bullets were flying everywhere. A few seconds later the camera feeds were cut off and they couldn't hear anything either.

"What's going on?" Lori asked.

"Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna can you hear me?" Hetty asked but there was no answer. "Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks can you hear me?" But there was no answer either.

"What's going on? Why aren't they answering?" Lori asked slightly panicked.

"I'm sure there's a very good explanation for this. I'm sure everything is fine," Hetty said. "Mr. Beale, try to get the picture back up."

"What if something happened to them?" Lori said and suddenly she got a sharp pain in her stomach.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ms. Carter, are you okay?" Hetty asked.

"I'm fine. I just need to sit down," Lori said as she sat down in the chair, her breathing slightly panicked.

"Okay, just take deep slow breaths."

"They are gonna be alright, right. I mean they have to be."

"I'm sure they will be just fine. Any luck with bringing the picture back up Mr. Beale?"

"No, not yet," Eric said and just as he said that the phone rang and Eric answered it. "Hello….. It's Callen."

Lori sat up as she heard his name and Eric had put him on speaker.

"Mr. Callen, is everything alright?" Hetty asked.

"Yes Hetty everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be? You were watching the op with us right?" Callen said.

Lori relaxed a bit as she heard Callen's voice. He was alright.

"We were until the feed cut out, we didn't have any video or audio connection to you guys."

"Hmm, that's weird. Maybe they used so sort of blocker. We're fine Hetty. Bolton is safe and his kidnappers are dead. We're just gonna drop him off at the hospital and then we'll be back at the office."

"Very well Mr. Callen," Hetty said and she hung up.

"See Lori, he's fine," Nell said and she noticed that her breathing returned to normal.

"Are you sure you're okay Ms. Carter? Do we need to get you checked over?"

"No, I'm fine. I feel a bit better, besides I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. I'm just gonna lie down for a bit," Lori said and she walked out of OPS to the bullpen and lay down on the sofa.

By the time the team came back into the office Lori was asleep.

"Very well done everyone," Hetty said once the team walked in. "Mr. Callen, a moment please."

Hetty walked to her office followed by Callen.

"What's up Hetty?" Callen said as he sat down.

"It's about Lori. Maybe it's better for her if she stayed home from now on."

"Why would you say that? Did something happen?" Callen asked slightly worried.

"She was watching the op with us from OPS and when the feed cut out she got worried something happened to you and she got some sort of panic attack."

"What?!" Callen said as he got up from his chair. "Where is she? Is everything alright?"

"She's asleep on the sofa, she's resting," Hetty said but before she got her last words out Callen was already making his way to the sofa.

"Lori, sweetheart," Callen said as he sat down on the sofa and ran his hand over her face. Lori started to wake up.

"G?" Lori asked still half asleep.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here."

Lori sat up and threw her arms around him.

"I'm glad you're alright. When the feed cut out I got worried something had happened to you."

"Yeah, Hetty told me what happened. Are you sure you're okay? That the babies are okay?" Callen said as his hand ran over her stomach.

"I'm fine G. I just got a little too worked up. I just need to get some rest."

"Alright, come on, I'm taking you home," Callen said and he helped Lori up and they drove home.

Callen told her not to do anything for the rest of the day except rest. So Lori lay down on the couch for the rest of the evening before going to bed, followed by Callen.

"Are you sure everything is alright?" Callen asked as he laid his head on her stomach.

"I'm fine honey and I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow anyway so I'm gonna be checked over then," Lori said as she ran her hand through his hair.

"But what if something is already wrong with you or the babies?" Callen said lifting his head.

"We're fine sweetie. If something was wrong I would notice it. And besides they wouldn't do this," Lori said as she grabbed Callen's hand and put it on her stomach.

Callen felt something against his hand through her stomach.

"Was that a kick?"

"Yeah it was," Lori said and Callen captured her lips with his while keeping his hand on her stomach. "So you see G, we're doing fine. It was probably just the same as last time."

"I'm sorry Lori."

"Sorry about what G?"

"About this, somehow I feel responsible for what happened earlier. Cus if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have had this panic attack or the previous on."

"Oh G," Lori said and she pulled Callen close to her and Callen rested his head on her shoulder. "It's not your fault baby, these things happen."

"Hetty told me it might be better if you stayed home from now on."

"I'll be fine G. I won't worry any less when I'm sitting at home. I'll promise to stay out of OPS when the op is on the big screen."

"I just don't want anything to happen to either one of you."

"I know sweetie, but we'll be fine. I promise."

Callen sat up and gathered Lori in his arms.

"I love you Lori."

"I love you too G."

Callen slid down the bed with Lori in his arms and he held her close to him and Lori snuggled into his chest and they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Callen took Lori to her doctor's appointment. He was pleased to hear that everything was alright with all 3 of them. The doctor did tell Lori to take it easy the rest of her pregnancy and to try and put as less stress as possible on her body.

"See I told you everything was okay," Lori said as they walked out of the office.

"I know, I'm just glad to hear it from the doctor as well," Callen said. "You're gonna take it easy from now on right?"

"Yes I will G, don't worry."

Callen and Lori went to work. When they arrived at work Lori walked into Hetty's office.

"Good morning Hetty."

"Good morning Ms. Carter," Hetty said. "How are you feeling today?'

"I'm feeling better. Went to the doctor this morning and everything was fine."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"He did say I needed to take it easy the rest of the pregnancy so I wondered if it's possible to work another day less, only 3 days a week."

"Of course you can Ms. Carter. Anything to make sure you and the babies are okay."

"Thank you Hetty," Lori said and she walked back to the bullpen.

…..

"Morning G," Lori said as she walked into the living room.

"Morning Lori. Sleep well?"

"Yeah I slept fine. You?"

"I slept fine too."

"Glad to hear."

"Want me to make you some breakfast?"

"Thanks that would be lovely."

"What do you want?" Callen said as he got up and walked to the kitchen.

"Could you make me a warm waffle?"

"Sure, what do you want on top of it?"

"Uhm, just put some ice cream, powder sugar, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and some bananas on top."

"That all, or anything else?"

"Also some strawberries please."

"Okay," Callen said grossed out by the thought of eating that.

A few minutes later Callen walked out of the kitchen with the waffle.

"Here you go."

"Thank you sweetie."

"Are you seriously gonna enjoy eating that?"

"Yeah, it tastes good. Would you like a bite?"

"No thank you, I already ate."

"Okay, more for me."

"Enjoy," Callen said and he got up. "I'm just gonna put some laundry on."

"Alright, that shirt of mine in the bedroom can also go in the washer."

"Alright."

About 10 minutes later Callen came back into the living room.

"Already finished with your breakfast?" Callen said.

"Yeah I was hungry. I'm eating for three you know."

"I know," Callen said as he sat next to her and kissed her stomach. "Would it be okay if Sam came over to watch the basketball game tonight? He asked if I wanted to come over to his place but I said I'd prefer to stay at home. Do you mind if he came over?"

"No, that's fine."

"Alright. I'm just going to the store to get some more beer and chips. Do you need anything?"

"Just bring me some chips too and some melon. Oh and don't forget the dip for the chips."

"You got it. I'll be right back," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

That evening Sam came by to watch the game.

"Hey Lori," Sam said as he walked into the house.

"Hey Sam," Lori said.

"How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling fine, just a little bit tired. Well I leave you two to watch the game," Lori said as she got up.

"You don't have to go Lori, you can watch the game with us if you like," Callen said.

"Nah, I'm good. Besides there's a good chick flick on tonight, I'm just gonna watch that."

"Alright, that's fine. I'll be right out here if you need me."

"Okay," Lori said and she went to the kitchen to get some chips and dips and something to drink and went to the bedroom.

"How are you two doing?" Sam asked once Lori was gone.

"We're doing fine. Everything is fine here. We're both pretty excited to meet our little babies. I can tell Lori wants the babies to be here soon. Sometimes she doesn't like being this pregnant," Callen said.

"Yeah I can understand. Michelle had that too near the end. If she could have pulled our daughter out on her own she would have done so."

Lori was watching her movie and she could hear the two men enjoying the basketball game and shouting at the TV sometimes when the ref made a bad call. When the game had ended Sam left and Callen walked into the bedroom. Lori was still watching her movie.

"Hey G, how was the game?" Lori said.

"Fine. Lakers beat the Kings so that's good. How's the movie?" Callen said as he got into the bed.

"It's nice. I've watched it a couple times before, but it's still good."

"Which movie is this?"

"A Cinderella story."

"Really? Cinderella? What's up with girls and Cinderella?

"It's nice. Every little girl dreams about being Cinderella. I know I did."

"Really? What did you dream that your prince would be like?"

"Hmm, handsome, sweet, caring, able to sweep me off my feet, good kisser. But that's just in my dreams. I have to do with what I have here," Lori said and gave Callen a playful smile.

"Oh really? Well that's just too bad for you. You'll just have to do with me," Callen said playfully and he pulled her down onto the bed and kissed her.

"Well you're not so bad."

"I'm glad to hear that," Callen said and he kissed her again.

They spend a couple minutes kissing. By the time they stopped the movie had already ended.

"Damn, I missed the ending."

"Well you've seen it a couple of times, haven't you?"

"Yeah I have, I just always like the ending. But I can think of and ending of my own before going to sleep," Lori said and she pulled Callen back to her and kissed him again.

They spend a couple minutes kissing like that before they went to sleep.

…

"Good morning everyone," Callen said as he and Lori walked into the bullpen.

"Good morning," Deeks, Kensi and Sam said.

"How was everyone's weekend?" Lori asked.

"Fine. Spent some time with my mom, shopping, getting a manicure, that sort of stuff," Kensi said.

"Nice. How about you Deeks?"

"Went surfing this weekend and hate a date," Deeks said.

"Oh really? With who? Again with yourself?" Kensi said.

"Haha no, you wish. One girl I met while surfing."

"Well glad you had a good time," Lori said.

"How was your weekend?" Kensi said.

"It was fine. Sam came over to watch the game on Saturday and Sunday G and I just relaxed at home."

"How are feeling now after what happened last week?"

"Better, I asked Hetty for one more day off, so I'm only working 3 days a week now."

"That's fine. You and the babies are more important at the moment."

"Yes they are."

A couple minutes later Eric whistled.

"Got a new case," Eric said and he walked back up to OPS followed by the agents.

"What are we looking at Eric?" Callen asked as they walked into OPS.

"PO Jackie Harper died earlier this morning during a mission in Iraq."

"Why involve us? Soldiers die sometimes during a mission," Lori said.

"That's true, but her family requested a thorough investigation. The circumstances in which she died were suspicious," Nell said.

"What were the circumstances?" Callen asked.

"Not exactly sure, the report the family got and the one we have access to, is very weird, it doesn't add up," Nell said as she put the report on screen.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

"Well there are a lot of pieces missing and the story doesn't seem to fit."

"How doesn't it fit?" Callen asked.

"Well, it says here she was on a mission in Iraq, but there is no data on that mission anywhere and the family only gotten vague answers and they aren't allowed to see her remains, so they requested a thorough investigation by NCIS."

"Why us?" Kensi said.

"Because Ms. Blye," Hetty said as she walked into OPS. "Her dead is anything but normal. If the navy is going through so much to cover it up it requires us investigating it."

"Alright, Kensi, Deeks, you go to the morgue, see if you can find the body. Lori you look through the autopsy report and the report about her dead, maybe we can find something in there. Eric, Nell you see what you can find out about the mission, about who was on it, who knew about it, who they were tracking. I know there isn't much information, but try to find as much as you can," Callen said and everybody went to work.

"What are you gonna do?" Lori asked.

"Sam and I are gonna speak to the family."

"Mrs. Harper?" Sam said as a woman opened the door.

"Yes, who are you?" Mrs. Harper said.

"Agents Callen and Hanna, NCIS," Callen said and they showed their badges. "We're here to talk about the death of your daughter."

"Come on in," Mrs. Harper said and Callen and Sam followed her to the living room. "I'm glad someone is investigating her death."

"Why did you request a thorough investigation?"

"The navy won't tell me anything about her death. Everything they tell me is totally vague and they won't let me see her body."

"What have they told you?" Sam asked.

"They told me that they walked into an ambush and she got caught in the crossfire. They told me it happened in Iraq, but she didn't tell me anything about going to Iraq. She told me that she was in Afghanistan."

"So you think they are lying to you to cover something up?" Callen asked.

"Yes I do. Why else wouldn't they keep me from seeing my daughter's body?"

"We'll see what we can find out. We'll let you know when we have something. If you think of anything else, please call us," Callen said and he handed her his card.

"Thank you. Please find out what happened to my daughter."

15 minutes later Callen and Sam were back at the office.

"Hey Lori, did you find something?" Callen said.

"Not much, everything in here is pretty vague and not really detailed. They say she died from multiple GSW's, but it doesn't say where on the body or what kind of bullets it were. And they only said she died in the crossfire, nothing more," Lori said.

"Let's hope Kensi and Deeks had better luck," Callen said and just as he said that Kensi and Deeks came into the bullpen. "How did you guys do at the morgue?"

"Not good. They wouldn't let us see the body, even though we're NCIS," Kensi said.

"You're kidding? Now what?" Sam said.

"Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna will go back to the morgue, with a warrant. And if they still not want to let you see the body you tell them to call me," Hetty said and Callen and Sam left. "Ms. Blye, Mr. Deeks, you two head to the navy office and see what you can find out about this case. I've set you up with a cover. You'll be there to inspect the safety in the computer room."

Deeks and Kensi went to get dressed and they left.

Sam and Callen arrived at the morgue and they showed their badges.

"Look you're people were already here this morning. I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told them. No, you can't see her," the man said.

"We've got a warrant. And if you still so no, then you can call Hetty and explain it to her," Callen said.

"Alright," the man said realizing there was no way out anymore.

Callen and Sam inspected the body and they saw she took 3 shots in the chest, one going straight through her hart. But Callen noticed something on her abdomen.

"Sam, take a look at this," Callen said.

"Looks, like she had a surgery there," Sam said.

"Yeah it does, but in her medical records there's nothing about having that kind of surgery."

"What happened on her abdomen?" Sam asked once they were back at the front desk.

"She had her appendix removed," the man said.

"Why isn't there anything about that in her medical file?" Callen said and the man froze for a second. "Look you might as well tell us, we know you're covering up something."

"It's not my place to tell. You have to talk to someone high up in the navy," the man said and with that Callen and Sam went back to the office.

"They are definitely covering something up," Callen said as he walked into Hetty's office. "We need to speak to someone high ranked in the navy. Nobody else is talking."

"I'll see what I can do," Hetty said and she went to make some calls and Callen walked back to the bullpen.

"Hey Lori."

"Hey G, any luck?"

"Yeah, Hetty is making some calls now. How are you doing?"

"I'm good. Just taking it easy today, babies are pretty calm today."

"Good to hear," Callen said as he rubbed her stomach.

A little later Kensi and Deeks came walking into the bullpen.

"Eric and Nell now have access to their servers so they're checking what they can find," Kensi said.

"Good work Kens," Callen said.

It took a while before they had a new lead. Eric and Nell came down the stairs with some new Intel.

"I think we may have something," Eric said.

"What have you got Eric?" Callen asked.

"We looked at the servers and we found the real file about PO Harper's death," Eric said as he put a file up on screen. "She did not die in the crossfire. Someone in the navy covered up her death, because of what they were doing. She wasn't in Iraq. She was near the border to Mexico and it says her that they had a falling out about the business they were into and that's why they shot her."

"She was shot by her own people?" Lori asked.

"It looks that way yeah. We don't know exactly what happened, that's not mentioned. But we do know that what they said didn't happen either," Nell said.

"Do you have a name for the one who approved this mission?" Callen said.

"Yes, it was her captain, Captain Scott Parker. He works at the navy office here."

"Alright, good work. We'll go speak to him," Callen said and he and Sam left.

"We're here to speak to Captain Parker," Sam said as they arrived at the navy office.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

"No, and we don't need one," Callen said and he showed his badge.

"Oh okay. He's in the office down the hall to the right."

"Captain Parker, NCIS, we're here to ask you some questions about the death of PO Harper," Callen said as they walked into his office and showed their badges.

"What are you doing here? You need to leave! This is a private office," Parker said.

"Not until you tell us what really happened to Harper," Sam said.

"There's no way out now, we know that you tried to cover up her dead," Callen said. "What was she doing in Mexico?"

"Alright, she was in Mexico for a secret mission. No one could know we were there, so we said that she was somewhere else."

"That still doesn't explain why you covered up her dead or why she has a scar on her abdomen when there's no mention of a surgery in her medical record."

Parker walked around his desk, getting closer to the exit.

"Look…," Parker started but then he ran out of the room as fast as possible.

Callen and Sam were hot on his heels.

"Federal agents! Stop!" Sam yelled.

Callen continued to run after him while Sam took a short cut to try at cut him off. He caught up with Parker and pushed him down on the floor.

"Now you're gonna talk to us," Sam said and he took him to the boatshed.

They interrogated him and it was revealed that they used to mission to transport drugs. Harper found out what they were doing and she threatened to turn them in so they shot her and they made a cut in her abdomen to make it look like she was transporting drugs inside her body. He gave them the names of the others that were involved and they were all arrested and received a dishonorable discharge.

Kensi and Deeks went to tell her mother what happened, that her daughter tried to stop them from doing the wrong thing for someone in the navy.

"Good work everyone," Hetty said once everyone was back in the office. "Ms. Harper's body has been released to the family and she will have an honorable navy burial."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sam said.

"Goodnight everyone," Hetty said and everyone went home.

…

Lori got up to go to the bathroom and when she came back she felt that she was getting dizzy. She grabbed onto the wall to steady herself. Then she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and she fell to the floor.

Kensi was sitting at her desk in the bullpen and heard something falling on the ground. She looked up from her laptop and saw Lori lying there on the ground.

"Oh my god," Kensi said as she got up from her chair. "Callen, Lori is down on the floor."

"What?!" Callen said and he jumped up from his chair and followed Kensi to Lori. "Lori, honey." Callen saw that she was unconscious. "Sam, get my keys. I'm taking her to the hospital."

Callen picked her up and carried her to his car followed by Sam.

"I'll drive you, G," Sam said and he opened the backseat door.

"Thanks," Callen said and he put Lori in the backseat and got in himself with her head resting on his lap. "Come on honey, stay with me."

Sam drove as fast as he could to the hospital. They arrived at the hospital in record time and Callen carried Lori out of the car. A nurse that was standing outside saw him coming her way and she quickly went inside to grab a gurney. Callen placed Lori on the gurney and she was taken to the trauma room.

"How far along is she?" The doctor asked.

"34 weeks," Callen said.

"Any problems before with the pregnancy?"

"She had a couple of panic attacks that caused cramps but never like this. Please help her."

"Sir, we're gonna everything we can to help her and her babies. She's in good hands here."

Callen watched as the medical staff started to work on Lori, hooking her up to a lot of different machines.

"Call upstairs, tell OB and the OR we're coming up," the doctor said.

"What's going on?" Callen asked panicked.

"The babies are in distress, we have to perform an emergency C-section."

"What?! What's going on?"

"Stay calm sir, we're gonna do everything we can to make sure all 3 of them are okay."

"Stay calm?! She's only 34 weeks, it's too early."

"I understand sir, but if we don't do something soon we could lose all three of them."


	14. Chapter 14

"Doctor, they are waiting for us upstairs," a nurse said as she came out of the trauma room with Lori.

"Alright, you can go upstairs with us and wait there in the waiting room," the doctor said.

Callen went up to the surgical floor with Lori. Callen held her hand the whole time. He walked with her until the doctor told him he couldn't go any further. Callen gave her one last kiss on her head.

"Everything will be alright honey, I'll be right outside here waiting," Callen said.

Callen watched as they wheeled Lori off into the OR and he sat in the waiting room. By the time Sam had parked the car Lori was already in surgery. Sam walked up to the waiting room and he found his partner sitting there, his elbows resting on his knees and his face in his hands.

"Hey G," Sam said as he placed a hand on Callen's shoulder and sat down.

It took a while before Callen said anything to Sam. Sam didn't push him; he just sat there together with his partner.

"The babies were in distress, they are doing an emergency c-section right now," Callen said.

"They'll be aright G," Sam said as he placed his hand on Callen's shoulder. "Lori is strong, she'll pull them through. She's in very good hands here," Sam said.

"I hope so Sam. I can't lose her or the babies."

"You won't G, she'll be fine."

Callen couldn't handle sitting still anymore without knowing what's going on with Lori and he started pacing through the waiting room. Sam thought what Callen must be going through right now and he felt bad for his partner, but there was nothing Sam could do except be there for him.

It felt like an eternity for Callen until the nurse came walking towards him, it had only been an hour and a half.

"Excuse me sir," the nurse said as she walked towards Callen and Callen immediately stood up from his seat.

"Is everything okay with Lori and the babies?" Callen asked.

"The doctor is just finishing up with Lori and your daughters have been brought to the NICU."

"Daughters? I have two little girls?"

"Yes sir. If you would like to see them I could take you to them."

"Yes please," Callen said and he and Sam followed the nurse to the NICU.

Before Callen and Sam walked in they had to wash their hands and put on a special coat and bags around their shoes. The nurse let them to the two cribs where Callen and Lori's daughters were.

"They are doing very well considering. 34 weeks is not that bad for twins. They do have to stay here for a week or two to strengthen up, but they should be just fine," the nurse said and Callen saw his little girls for the first time.

He couldn't believe that this were his little girls. He looked at their cribs and he saw two dark blond haired and blue eyed babies staring back at him. They looked so beautiful.

"Can I…?" Callen asked as he held his hand above their cribs.

"Sure."

Callen ran his fingers over their little cheeks and the babies smiled back at him.

"Hey there, I'm your daddy," Callen said and he moved down to kiss their little hands.

"This is Nurse Debbie, she'll be taking care of your kids here. I have to go back down, I'll let you know when your fiancé is out of surgery," the nurse said.

"Thank you."

"They are very cute G," Sam said.

"Yeah they really are adorable," Callen said and Sam didn't miss the emotion spreading across his partners face. Normally he was very good at hiding his emotions, but not right now. Sam saw happiness on his face while Callen looked at his daughters and he thought he could see tears forming in Callen's eyes.

About 30 minutes later Lori was out of surgery. Callen wanted to go see her but he didn't want to leave his babies alone.

"Sam, could you stay here for a while? I wanna be there when Lori wakes up," Callen said.

"Sure. You go to her, I'll stay here," Sam said.

"Thanks Sam," Callen said and he made his way over to Lori's room.

Callen walked into Lori's room and he saw her lying in the hospital bed, she was still asleep. Callen walked up to her and held her hand and kissed her on the top of her head. He sat down on the chair next to her bed while holding her hand.

About 10 minutes later Lori started to wake up. Lori blinked her eyes for a few times, trying to adjust where she was. She saw a figure next to her bed.

"G?" Lori asked.

Callen shot up out of his chair when he heard her voice. "Yeah sweetie, it's me, I'm here."

Lori opened her eyes and saw Callen's blue eyes staring back at her. She looked around her and she noticed that she was in the hospital.

"What happened, G? Is everything okay with the babies?"

"You needed to have a c-section, but don't worry, our two little girls are doing just fine."

"Girls? We have two daughters?"

"Yeah, we have and they are very cute," Callen said and he pulled out his phone and showed Lori some pictures. "Here this is them."

"Aw they are so adorable. Look they have your blue eyes."

"Yeah I saw, but they also look a lot like you, I can see that."

"They are very beautiful," Lori said with a crack in her voice.

"Hey Lori, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just happy we have two beautiful little girls."

"I'm happy about that too and don't worry, everything will be alright," Callen as he sat down on the bed next to Lori and took her into his arms. "I love you Lori."

"I love you too G," Lori said and she snuggled into Callen's arms but she flinched as she felt a little bit of pain in her stomach.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, my stomach just hurts a bit from the surgery. Is someone with the girls now?"

"Yes Sam is with them. I asked him to stay with them while I checked on you."

"And I did, but unfortunately I have to go back to work. Kensi just called," Sam said as he appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Sam, thank you for staying with them," Lori said.

"You're welcome. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Just a little bit tired and a little bit sore, but okay."

"Alright, you have two very cute daughters. I'll see you later," Sam said and he walked out of the door.

"I'll be right back," Callen said and he went after Sam. "Hey Sam, wait up." Sam stopped and turned around. "Thank you for driving me here and staying here with me," Callen said as he held out his hand.

Sam took his hand and he shook it and they gave each other a bro hug.

"You're welcome G. Just take care of your girls. I'll tell the others what happened when I get back."

"Thanks Sam."

"Oh before I forget, here are your car keys," Sam said as he handed Callen his keys back.

"How will you get back?"

"Kensi and Deeks are picking me up before they go to the suspect."

"Alright I'll see you later and thanks again."

"You're welcome G," Sam said and he walked towards the elevators and Callen walked back to Lori.

Callen could see that Lori had been crying a bit.

"Hey honey, everything okay?" Callen asked.

"I just wanna go see my little girls, you and Sam have both seen them. I wanna see them too."

"I don't know if it's okay for you to bed out of bed already," Callen said and Lori gave him a look. "Alright, I'll go ask the nurse if it's okay."

Callen walked out and he found the nurse.

"Excuse me, is it possible for Lori to go see her daughters in the NICU?" Callen said.

"She just had surgery. It's better if she stayed in bed," the nurse said.

"I know, but she really wants to go see them. Is there something you could do about that?"

"I'll talk to the doctor and see what I can do."

"Thank you," Callen said and he walked back to Lori.

"And? Can I go see them?" Lori said as Callen walked back into the room.

"She is just gonna talk to the doctor about it."

A little later the nurse came into the room.

"Hello Ms. Carter, how are you feeling?" the nurse said.

"Okay, I just wanna go see my daughters."

"Well, that's what I'm here for. The doctor said you couldn't get out of bed just yet so the best I can do is take you up there in your bed and then daddy can go in and hold them up for you and you'll be able to look at them through the window. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do for now."

"Thank you, I would like that. It's better than nothing."

The nurse wheeled Lori's bed to the NICU and Callen went in and he held the first baby up to the window so Lori could see.

Lori watched through the window as Callen picked up their daughter and she smiled as she saw Callen with their daughter. Callen tilted her so Lori could see her face. She looked so beautiful, Lori thought and she touched the glass to be as near to here as she could.

"See that's mommy there," Callen said as he held the baby.

Callen then picked up the other baby and showed her to Lori. Lori felt so happy to see her two little girls were doing okay. She was happy to have a family with Callen and as she watched Callen with their girls she knew he felt the same too. She couldn't help but let a few tears roll over her cheeks.

Callen noticed that she started to cry so he put the baby back and went back to Lori.

"Hey Lori, everything okay?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, I'm just happy to see you like that with our girls."

"I'm happy too, we are a family," Callen said and he kissed Lori.

"Yeah we are."

"Excuse me, do you already have names picked out for them?" The nurse said.

"Yes, we have," Lori said and she looked at Callen who nodded. "We would like to name them Myra Susan Callen and Julie Clara Callen."

"Very beautiful names. Which one would you like to call Myra and which one would you like to call Julie?"

"I think the right one will be Julie and the left one Myra. Is that okay with you honey?" Callen said.

"That's fine with me."

"Alright, I'll just go pass it on to Nurse Debbie. I'll be right back."

"Are they really okay honey?" Lori asked.

"Yes, they are okay. Don't worry and the nurse is here to look after them, they'll be fine. She said we could probably take them home with us in a week or two."

The nurse came back and took Lori back to her room. Callen stayed with her for the rest of the day. Every now and then when Lori was asleep he went to check on his little girls. He was already so much in love with them. He never thought he was going to be a daddy, but now he was and to twins nonetheless. Every time Callen looked over their cribs they began to smile as they saw their daddy and Callen couldn't help but smile too. This was the happiest he'd ever been and he promised to himself that he would take very good care of his girls.

In the evening visiting hour the team came by to see Lori in the hospital. Callen had already called Lori's family and they should be here later tonight too.

"Hello mommy and daddy," Kensi said as she walked into the room followed by the others.

"Hey guys, thank you for coming," Lori said.

"It's our pleasure. Here we brought you something," Kensi said as she handed Lori a present.

"Thank you guys," Lori said and she opened the present and she pulled out to little t-shirts, one with the text 'Daddy's little girl' and the other with 'Mommy's little girl'. "Aw thanks guys, this is very cute. I'm sure they are gonna look great in them."

"How are you feeling Ms. Carter?" Hetty asked.

"I'm okay. Just a bit tired and bummed that I can hold my daughters yet."

"You will be able to hold them soon enough and I'm sure Mr. Callen has been taking very good care of them."

"Yes I have Hetty."

The team stayed for a little while and Callen took them to go see their little girls before they went back home. Just as they left Lori's parents came into the room.

"Hi there," Susan said as she walked in.

"Hi mom, dad," Lori said.

"Hey sweetie," Susan said as she hugged her daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, happy that we have two little girls."

"Yes Greg told me about that when he called. Where are they?"

"They are still in the NICU for the time being, because they were born too early and by c-section."

"Are they okay?" Richard asked.

"They are doing okay, but they do have to stay in the NICU for a while to strengthen up," Callen said.

"That's good. Can we see them?" Susan asked.

"Sure, I can take you to them. I'll be right back Lori," Callen said and he gave her a kiss and he walked out with her parents.

They arrived at the NICU and Callen let them to their granddaughters.

"Oh they are so cute," Susan said once she saw them. "What are their names?"

"This one is Myra Susan Callen and that's Julie Clara Callen," Callen said.

"Very beautiful names. You named her after me?"

"Yeah we decided to give them the middle names of our moms."

"That's sweet. So Clara is your mom?"

"Yeah she was. She died when I was 4."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that. What about your father?"

"I never knew him. It's okay. I've got Lori and our two girls now."

"Yes you have and I can see you and Lori love each other very much and I'm sure you're gonna be very good parents to these little girls."

They stayed there for a little while before her parents went back to Lori. Callen stayed a little longer with his daughters.

"Hey, where's G?" Lori asked when her parents walked back into the room.

"G?" Richard asked.

"Yeah sorry, Greg. We all call him G."

"Ah okay."

"He's still in the NICU with your daughters," Susan said. "We'll see you later let you get some rest."

"Thank you for coming," Lori said as she said goodbye to her parents.

…

Callen was still in the NICU just spending time with his daughters when Myra started crying. Callen picked her up trying to figure out what to do. Nurse Debbie noticed that Myra was crying and she walked over to him with a bottle.

"Here, I think she's hungry," Debbie said as she handed Callen the bottle.

"Uhm… Lori wants to breastfeed them," Callen said.

"She can still do that and this is almost the same as breast milk. She's not fit enough to feed them so you can do it."

Callen took the bottle and moved it towards Myra's mouth. Myra immediately started sucking on the bottle.

"She's a hungry little girl," Debbie said. "Just feed her and then burp her."

"I've never done this before so I'm not sure how to do it," Callen said.

"Just hold her over your shoulder and rub her back until she burps. You'll do fine."

Callen sat there feeding his daughter; he liked spending time so close to her but he also thought how Lori would have loved to do this. She would be able to do this soon enough. Once Myra had finished her bottle Callen held her over his shoulder and rubbed her back, a little later Myra burped.

"Good girl," Callen said and he held her for a few more minutes before Julie started crying.

Callen put Myra back in her crib and picked up Julie. There was another bottle already made for Julie as well. Callen picked up the bottle and started feeding Julie as well. Once he was done with that he put Julie back and he gave them both a kiss before returning to Lori.

"Hey sweetie, sorry it took me so long. They started crying cus they were hungry so the nurse said I could feed them," Callen said.

"You fed them?" Lori said.

"Yeah I did. They had bottles ready there, but don't worry you can still breastfeed them when you're fit again."

"That's good. Did they eat well?"

"Yes, they ate very well and they fell asleep before I was even gone," Callen said as he sat down on the bed.

"That's good. G," Lori said as she grabbed Callen's hand. "Do you think you could maybe stay here with me tonight? I don't want to be alone here."

"Sure, I'll stay here. I'll stay here with you," Callen said and he kicked of his boots and lay down next to Lori on the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you G," Lori said and she snuggled against him.

"You're welcome," Callen said and he kissed her on the top of her head.

A little later Callen noticed that Lori had fallen asleep and Callen drifted off to sleep too.

…..

The next morning Callen woke up early. He looked at Lori who was still asleep. Callen quietly got up from the bed and he put his boots on and he went to the NICU. He was eager to see his little girls again.

"Good morning," Callen said when he saw Nurse Debbie in the NICU.

"Good morning daddy," Debbie said.

"How are they doing?"

"They are doing very well. They slept very good last night. Only woke up a couple of times."

"Good to hear," Callen said and he moved closer to their cribs. "Hey little girls, daddy is here."

Both girls started smiling as they heard their father's voice.

"I'm hoping mommy will be able to come here too today so she can hold you."

Callen stayed there for a little while before he went up to Lori again. When he walked into the room the doctor was there to check on Lori.

"Good morning, Mr. Callen," the doctor said.

"Good morning doctor," Callen said.

"Lori is doing very well. She can go to the NICU today to see her daughters provided that she'll not walk there but go in a wheelchair and stand as less as possible."

"I'll make sure of that."

"Alright, I'll be back later to check on you."

"Good morning baby," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"Good morning sweetie," Lori said. "Went to see Myra and Julie?"

"Yep, they are doing very well. I'll take you there later, once you have eaten," Callen said and he looked at the breakfast tray in front of her.

"I'm not really hungry, besides I hate hospital food."

"Come on Lori, you have to eat something," Callen said and he moved the tray closer to her and opened the lit. "Well if you're not going to eat on your own I'm just gonna have to feed you."

Lori couldn't help but laugh a little as she saw the smirk on his face. Callen picked up the fork and put some scrambled eggs on it and moved it to Lori's mouth. Lori couldn't believe he was actually going to feed her but nevertheless she opened her mouth and ate the eggs. She almost finished her entire plate. The food that was left there was eaten by Callen. Once Callen was done Lori pulled him over to her and kissed him.

"I love you," Lori said.

"I love you too."

"Please can we go see our little girls now?"

"Sure, let me just get you a wheelchair," Callen said and he got a wheelchair out of the hallway.

He helped her up in the wheelchair and he took her to the NICU. The wheelchair couldn't go in the NICU so Callen helped her walk towards their daughters and he sat her down in the rocking chair next to their cribs. He first picked up Myra and placed her in Lori's arms and then he did the same with Julie.

"Aw they are so cute," Lori said and he eyes starting tearing a bit as she held her daughters for the first time.

"Yeah they are," Callen said as he used his thumbs to wipe the tears from Lori's eyes.

Both girls open their eyes as they heard Callen's voice and Lori saw their blue eyes staring back at her.

"Hey there, I'm your mommy," Lori said.

After a little while Julie started crying so Lori handed Myra to Callen so she could feed Julie. Lori moved the top of her PJ's up so she could feed her. Julie immediately found her breast and started drinking.

"Well, looks like someone's hungry," Lori said.

After Julie was done eating she switched babies with Callen and fed Myra too.

Lori was doing very well so she could go home the next morning. Myra and Julie still had to stay in the hospital for at least a week.

Callen came up early in the morning after going home to get changed and get Lori some new clothes. They stayed at the NICU for the rest of the day before going home. Callen was glad Lori was coming home again but he was also sad because their daughters were still in the hospital, but they were doing very well.

…

They walked into the house and found bags of food in the kitchen. In one of the bags was a note.

"Looks like Hetty bought this for us," Callen said.

"That's sweet of her," Lori said.

Callen put away the groceries and fixed them up something to eat. Lori was still pretty tired so she went to bed early. Callen followed a couple hours later. Callen woke up a little later and he noticed Lori wasn't in her bed anymore. He got out and went to look for her. He had a pretty good idea where she was. He walked into the nursery and saw her sitting there on the rocking chair.

"Hey Lori," Callen said as he walked in.

"Hey G."

"What are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't sleep. I just wished we could have brought them home already. I miss them."

"I miss them too sweetie. We'll go see them again tomorrow, I promise. They are doing very well so we can take them home soon enough. Come on, let's go back to bed."

…

A week and a half later Myra and Julie were strong enough to come home. Callen went to pick them up after work and they took them home. Callen carried Myra in her car seat and Lori carried Julie into the house. They put the car seats down on the couch. Both babies had fallen asleep in the car. Callen put an arm around Lori and pulled her close to him.

"I'm glad to have my family home," Callen said.

"I know me too. But now we are at home with two little babies. Think we'll be able to manage that?"

"I'm sure we will. Cus I love you and I love our babies," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"I love you and our babies too."

Callen and Lori decided to place the babies in their cribs. They cried a little as they were picked up but Callen and Lori rocked them back to sleep and the placed them in their cribs.

"They look so peaceful sleeping," Lori said.

"Yeah they do. Come let's get them get some sleep."

They walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch together.

"Thank you for making me a mommy," Lori said as she looked into Callen's eyes.

"You're welcome. And thank you for making me a daddy."

"You're welcome," Lori said and Callen kissed her.

Callen picked her up and carried her to their bed and he gently put her down before her kissed her again. Their kissed turned more passionate and Callen moved his lips down to her neck. Lori loved it when he kissed her there. Callen then moved his hands under her shirt. Lori flinched at the contact and Callen stopped kissing her.

"I'm sorry G. I'm just not ready for that."

"It's okay. I know, I'm sorry. I just couldn't help myself."

"It's okay. Let's just go to sleep before the girls wake up okay."

"Okay," Callen said and he wrapped his arms around Lori and pulled her close to him.

They both drifted off to sleep only to be awakened by a loud noise a couple hours later.


	15. Chapter 15

They both shot up in their bed as they heard the noise.

"I'll get them," Callen said and he got out of bed and went to the girls' room.

Lori lay back down on the bed. This was all new to them. The babies crying in the middle of the night. This was their first night at home; sure they had heard them cry in the hospital but not in the middle of the night. Lori appreciated it that Callen said he would mostly go out at night so Lori could get her rest.

"I think they need mommy," Callen said as he walked back in the bedroom with both babies. "I think they're hungry."

Lori took Myra from Callen first and she started feeding her. Myra latched onto her nipple right away.

"Looks like she was hungry," Lori said.

Julie was still crying because she was hungry too.

"Shhh, it's okay baby. Mommy is just feeding your sister first. I know you're hungry sweetie," Callen said trying to calm Julie down.

Callen tried to get her to suck on her pacifier but she wouldn't take it. He then decided to let her suck on his finger. That helped for a little while.

"Here could you burp her, then I'll feed Julie, cus she's hungry too," Lori said and they switched babies. "Hey it's okay Julie, yeah I know you're hungry. Here you go little girl."

"You know, I could feed one of them too if they are hungry at the same time, I could use a bottle."

"Yeah maybe that's a good idea. I hate hearing one of them cry like that."

"Yeah me too. We knew it wasn't going to be easy raising twins."

"No it's not. Usually one of them is awake; at least one of them usually was in the hospital. It will be some getting used to having them at home, and some hard work and not much sleep I think."

"Yeah, well I said I would go out at night so you can get some rest, I don't need that much sleep anyway."

"Yeah I know, and that's really sweet of you."

A little later both girls were fed and burped. Callen was holding Myra and Lori was holding Julie. They sat up against the head board of their bed and Lori leaned against Callen resting her head on his shoulder.

"Look at us here now, together with two little girls," Lori said.

"Yeah, it's not somewhere I would have thought to be right now, but I've never been happier than right now," Callen said and he gave Lori as kiss on her head. "I love you girls so much."

"We love you too honey."

A little later Callen noticed that Lori and the girls had fallen asleep. Gently he stood up and lay Lori down on the bed. He then went to put Myra back in her crib and then did the same with Julie and he returned to bed and pulled Lori closed to him. Lori immediately snuggled into his chest. Callen felt the luckiest man alive right now, he had a woman in his life who he loved very much and who loved him very much too and they had two beautiful healthy little girls. With these thoughts he drifted off to sleep again.

….

Callen had a couple days off work to be at home with Lori and the girls. They were really starting to get used to having the twins at home. They were having a really good time together.

That Monday Callen's alarm went off at 7.30am.

"Do you really have to go to work again?" Lori said still half asleep.

"Yeah, unfortunately I do. I'll miss my three girls," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss on her cheek.

"Then stay at home."

"As much I would love to I can't, I've gotta get back to work. I'll get the girls so you can stay in bed a little longer okay."

"Okay," Lori said and she dozed off again.

Callen went to get showered and dressed and then went to the babies' room and took them with him to the kitchen. He put them in their bouncy chairs and he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of breast milk that Lori had filled and he warmed it up and he took Julie in his arms and fed and burped her and then he did the same with Myra. After being fed the girls lay quietly in their bouncy chairs and Callen made himself something to eat. By 8.30 Lori was out of bed as well and after getting dressed she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey my sweet little girls," Lori said and she gave both girls a kiss.

"They have already been fed."

"That's good. Did they drink well from the bottle?"

"Yes very well. They almost finished it, just a little bottom of milk left."

"Very good."

"You'll manage on your own today?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Maybe we'll come by the office during your lunch break."

"I'd like that," Callen said and he kissed Lori. "I've gotta go. I'll see you later okay. And if there's anything, anything at all, you can always call me okay."

"I know and I will, but we'll be fine."

"Alright," Callen said and he gave her another kiss. "Be good girls to mommy today, daddy will see you later. Daddy loves you." Callen gave both girls a kiss today. "See ya honey."

"See ya. Be careful today at work."

"I will."

Lori went to get herself something to eat and she just watched her two little girls lying in their bouncy chairs looking at the toys dangling above them. Lori still couldn't really believe that she and Callen had two little girls. Everything had happened so fast in the last couple of months and now here they were with twin girls. But she loved Callen very much and she was very grateful for these two little miracles.

"Well good morning daddy," Sam said as Callen walked into the bullpen.

"Morning Sam," Callen said.

"Good morning Mr. Callen. Glad to have you back," Hetty said as she walked into the bullpen.

"Morning Hetty."

"How are the girls doing?"

"They are doing very well. We've gotten pretty much used to having twin girls at home apart from the sleepless nights. But that's okay. I usually go out at night to get them, since I don't need that much sleep."

"No that's true," Sam said.

"Anyway, they are doing very well. They are eating very well and Lori and I are very happy with them."

"That's very good to hear Mr. Callen, now I suggest you catch up on some paperwork," Hetty said and she pointed at his inbox.

"Yeah," Callen sighed and he sat down behind his desk and got to work.

"How's Lori doing G?" Sam asked.

"She's doing fine. Little bit tired sometimes but she's doing fine, we're doing fine. Here, this picture I took over the weekend," Callen said as he showed Sam a picture on his phone.

"Aw that's very cute G. They look very adorable."

"Morning," Kensi and Deeks said as they walked in.

"What are you looking at?" Deeks said.

"Just some baby pictures," Callen said.

"Can I see?"

"Sure," Callen said and he showed Deeks and Kensi the picture too.

…

Lori was having a pretty quiet morning. She had just put the girls down for their morning nap and she decided to Skype her mother.

"Hey mom," Lori said when she saw her mother's face pop up on screen.

"Hey Lori," Susan said. "How is everything going there?"

"Very well, we're very happy to have them at home and they are doing very well. They've grown quite a bit already and they are just so adorable."

"Good to hear. And how are you and Greg doing?"

"We're fine. We've gotten used to having them at home and Greg is very sweet to them and to me. He usually goes out at night if they start crying. He's a very sweet father to them."

"I'm glad to hear. Can I see my little granddaughters?"

"Uhm.. They are asleep right now, but I can show them, hold on," Lori said and she grabbed her laptop and walked over to their cribs. "Here they are mom, sleeping peacefully."

"Aw they look so cute. You're right, they have grown. Aw sweetie they are absolutely adorable."

"Yeah they are," Lori noticed that the babies were starting to stir so she walked back to the living room.

"Well looks like you're doing quite well over there."

"Yeah, Greg and I are very happy."

"I can see that sweetie. We'll try to stop by very soon again."

"That's fine mom. I've still got a couple weeks off for my maternity leave so."

"I'll let you know if we are coming over okay."

"That's fine mom. I love you mom."

"I love you too sweetie. See ya."

A little later the babies woke up. Lori feed and changed them before she got them dressed to go outside.

"Shall we go see daddy at work?" Lori said. "Yeah, I think daddy will like that."

Lori put them in their car seats and drove to the office. She walked in through the back door and into the bullpen next to Callen's desk.

"Hey guys," Lori said and Callen looked up from his desk.

"Hey Lori," Kensi said.

"Hey honey," Callen said once he stood up and he gave her a kiss.

"Hey G, I just thought I'd stop by here."

"That's very nice of you, hey there are my two little girls," Callen said and he took the car seats from Lori and put them on the coffee table and he gave them both a kiss. "Daddy missed you."

Callen then picked both of them up out of the car seat and sat down on the couch with them. The rest of the team just watched as Callen interacted with his daughters. They had never seen their team leader like this. Sam was happy to see his partner like this. He had always hoped that one day he would settle down and have a family of his own and now here he was sitting on the couch with his two little girls.

Callen looked up from the couch and saw them all looking at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Callen asked.

"We're just glad to see you like this G. We're happy for you," Sam said.

"They are very cute kids Callen, they are very adorable," Kensi said.

"I thought you didn't like kids," Deeks said.

"Well…." Kensi started not sure what to say. "It's not that I don't like them, it's just I don't know if I'll be good with kids. But that doesn't mean that little babies aren't cute, cus they are."

"Ah, maybe we should get you a little baby too then," Deeks said and Kensi shot him a look.

"If looks could kill you'd be dead right now," Sam said and he went to sit next to Callen and Callen handed Myra to him.

"Uhm, that's…. what…" Deeks stumbled.

"Just drop it Deeks," Callen said.

Lori sat down next to Callen and she just looked at Julie in his arms. Julie looked up to them with her bright blue eyes.

"Well, I see we have visitors," Hetty said and she walked in. "Hello Ms. Carter, it's good to see you. How are you?"

"Hi Hetty, I'm good. Just thought I'd drop by with the girls," Lori said.

"That's okay. It's been a slow day so they can take a few minutes off of their work. They look very cute Mr. Callen, Ms. Carter," Hetty said before walking back to her office.

They sat there for a little while just chatting together before Eric came down.

"Uhm sorry to disturb you guys, but we've got a new case," Eric said. "Hey Lori."

"Hey Eric, it's okay, I was actually just leaving," Lori said.

Callen and Sam both put the babies back in their car seats and the others already went upstairs.

"Thank you for stopping by today. I really liked seeing my girls again," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"You're welcome G, I was actually missing you too. I miss having you at home."

"I know, I miss you too. I'll be back home later today okay. I've gotta go now," Callen said and he gave her another kiss.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

Lori picked up the kids and she drove home. The girls started fussing so she fed both of them before putting them in their playpen. Since the girls were calm again Lori decided to get some chores done. It was 4pm when she sat down to watch some TV. She lay down on the couch and before she knew it she drifted off to sleep.

It was just before 6 when Callen walked into the house. He saw Lori asleep on the couch so he quietly closed the door and he went to check on Myra and Julie. Both of them were quietly lying in their playpen looking up at their mobiles. Callen picked both of them up and sat down on the chair.

"Hey, daddy missed you today," Callen said trying to keep his voice down to not wake Lori up and he gave both of them a kiss.

He just sat there for about 15 minutes before Lori started to wake up. Lori opened her eyes and saw Callen sitting in the chair with their daughters.

"Hey G," Lori said.

"Hey Lori."

"You know I never get tired of seeing that."

"Seeing what?"

"You with Myra and Julie," Lori said and she stood up and gave Callen a kiss.

"Yeah I like holding them."

"I'm glad you do. How was work today?"

"Good. We got the case wrapped up that Eric called us about."

"Good to hear. I'm should go start dinner."

They had a very nice dinner and Callen fed Myra and Julie and put them down in their cribs and he walked back to the couch and sat next to Lori.

"Thank you for coming to the office today. I really liked it," Callen said and he pulled Lori closed to him.

"You're welcome. I thought you might like it."

"Of course I did. I missed you three today."

"We missed you too," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

"Honey, now that the girls are born, I've started thinking again about our wedding."

"Yeah me too and I can't wait to be your wife. But I think it's better to wait until the girls are a little older."

"Yeah I know, I was gonna say that too, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it already or start planning it."

"I know. We have to see what we have to do, cus some things we already have."

"Yes. Well what about your dress? I mean you were pregnant when you bought that dress."

"Yeah I know, but I'm sure they can remodel it to make it fit."

"Alright. I've got my suit also. By the way, where is your dress?"

"Somewhere you can't see it. But don't worry its put away safely."

"Okay then. We then should talk about when exactly and where we wanna hold it."

"Well I was thinking about the same place that we booked before, if it's available."

"Sure, that's fine with me. I shall give them a call. When exactly do we wanna get married, around which date?"

"I was thinking about at least 6 months away."

"That's fine with me," Callen said and he looked up the number and he called them. "Yeah hold on a sec…. Lori, they closest clear spot they have near that is Saturday May 10th, 2 months further away. So that would be 8 months from now."

"That's fine with me, if that's okay with you."

"Sure that's fine with me too… Alright, you can put us down for that day….. Well, all settled, date is set."

"Yes, it is. And I'm sure it's gonna be a very beautiful day that neither of us will ever forget," Lori said and she pulled Callen down on the couch and kissed him.

They kissed for a couple of minutes before they heard cries coming through the baby monitor.

"I'll go," Callen said and he walked over to the baby room and he saw that it was Myra who was crying. "Hey there sweetie, it's okay daddy's here. Well looks like someone here has a wet diaper." Callen went over to the changing table.

While he was changing Myra he was blowing soft kisses on her tummy which made her laugh a bit. When he was done changing her he walked over to her crib to put her back.

"Daddy loves you," Callen said and he gave her a kiss before putting her back. As he walked out of the room he heard Julie crying so he turned back around. "Hey, you are crying now too. You thought why don't I wait till daddy leaves and then I'll start crying huh." Callen tickled her tummy while saying that. He noticed that she had a dirty diaper so he went to change her too.

"Phewww," Callen said as he opened the diaper. He quickly threw the diaper away and cleaned her up and put a new diaper on her. "So you're all cleaned up again sweetie."

Callen rocked her a bit in his arms before he put her back and he gave her a kiss too. "Daddy loves you too." Callen walked back to the living room. "They're asleep again."

"Good. I heard Julie started crying too."

"Yeah, they both needed a diaper change."

"You are such a good daddy. I'm glad you are the father of my little girls. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

"Good to hear, cus neither would I," Callen said and he turned the TV off and turned down the light.

"G, what are you doing?"

Without saying anything Callen picked her up and carried her to the bedroom and put her down on the bed before joining her and he wanted to kiss her again but Lori stopped him.

"G, I told you we can't have sex yet."

"I know, I know and that was not what I was looking for. I just wanna lay here with you and kiss you and here it's better than on the couch," Callen said and his lips made their way do to hers.

Lori moaned against his lips as he deepened the kiss. Lori locked her arms behind Callen's head and Callen pressed his hands to her hips.

"I love you," Callen said when he broke apart to get some air.

"I love you too," Lori said and she rolled them over so Callen was lying on his back and she snuggled against his chest. "Goodnight honey."

"Goodnight honey."

…..

"I'm off to work already sweetie. Eric just called, they need us already," Callen said as he walked back into the bedroom.

"That's okay," Lori said still half asleep.

"The girls have been fed and changed and I put them back in their cribs. I'll leave the baby monitor on your nightstand. I'll see you later," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss on her cheek.

"Bye."

Lori fell back asleep for an hour before the babies started crying again. Lori got out and got them dressed and she put them in their playpens after they calmed down and she went and got herself dressed.

After breakfast she decided to head down to the store to do some shopping. She parked her car around the corner of the store. She had just finished putting the groceries and the girls back in the car when someone jumped at her from behind.


	16. Chapter 16

20 minutes later Lori woke up in a room she didn't recognize. She quickly looked around and she saw her two girls sleeping peacefully in their car seats. She quickly checked if they were injured in any way. Luckily they were okay. The last thing she remembered was putting the groceries in her car and then everything went black. There was no window in the room so she couldn't look outside to see where she was. She heard men talking outside the door. She checked if anything was missing from her. She didn't have her bag anymore, which had her cell phone in, so she couldn't call Callen. She felt in the back of her pants and she noticed that her gun was gone too. She put the car seats up on the bed with her and she picked Myra and Julie up and held them close to her. She prayed that Callen would find her fast.

….

Eric was working behind his computer up in OPS when he received a video file.

"Oh my god," Eric said as he saw the video.

"What is it Eric?" Nell said, but before Nell could finish her sentence Eric was already out of OPS whistling the agents up.

"Guys, we've got a problem. It's Lori, she's been taken."

"What?!" Callen yelled as he jumped up and ran up the stairs, taking two steps at once. "What do we know Eric?"

"We just received this video," Eric said and he played the video.

They could see Lori sitting in the room on the bed holding her little girls.

"Agent Callen, as you can see I've got your girls. They are safe for now. They will stay that way as long as you cooperate with me. If you don't, well you'll see what happens then. I'll contact you later with further details," a voice-over on the video said.

"Damn it, son of a bitch," Callen said.

"At least they look alright," Deeks said and Callen shot him a look.

"G, don't worry. We will find them," Sam said as he put his hands on Callen's shoulder. "Did you recognize the voice?"

"No, I didn't. Eric, Nell, find out anything you can on this video, maybe there are some noises in the background. See if you can track down where this video came from, anything. Also check Lori's car and cell phone GPS."

Eric typed on his tablet.

"Her cell phone is off and the GPS in her car has been disabled. Last place it got GPS was at Ralphs on National Boulevard."

"Check security and traffics cams in that area. See if they caught something," Callen said and he walked out of OPS.

"Mr. Callen," Hetty called as she saw Callen walking down the stairs but Callen kept on walking. "Mr. Callen." Hetty tried again but no reaction. "Oh bugger."

A little later Sam came down the stairs.

"Keep an eye on him, Mr. Hanna."

"Will do," Sam said and he took off to the armory.

He saw Callen shooting in the firing range. He just waited outside until his partner was finished.

Callen was so angry that he emptied 3 mags into the paper targets, all center mass hits. He walked outside and he saw Sam sitting at one of the tables in the armory.

"Unless you've got some news about Lori I don't wanna talk right now Sam," Callen said.

"G, we will find them and bring them back safely."

"How? We don't even know where they are or who took them or when that video had been shot. That could have been from earlier."

"G, listen to me," Sam said as he placed his hands on Callen's shoulder. "I know how you feel. If something happened to Michelle or my kids I'd feel the same way. I promise you we'll get them back safely. Come on let's go see if Eric and Nell have something new."

"I found the camera footage for the parking lot," Eric said as he put the footage on the big screen.

Callen saw Lori putting the girls and the groceries back in the car and then a man jumped out from behind her and he put a cloth over Lori's mouth and he put her body in the passenger seat and he got in the driver seat and took off.

"Damn it," Callen said as he saw what happened. "Eric, can you find out where her car went?"

"Kaleidoscope is looking for it but no hits yet," Eric said.

"But we did managed to get an ID on her kidnapper," Nell said as she put a picture up on the screen. "Alex Sharov."

Callen stared at the screen as Nell put the picture up.

"You know him G?" Sam asked.

"Yes I do. I dealt with him back in Russia. I was actually the reason he went to prison," Callen said.

"What was the case about?"

Callen turned back around to the rest of the team. "It was when I was with the DEA, It was a 2 man team. Sharov was trafficking drugs to the US, using diplomatic pouches. We managed to capture him and the people he was supplying to."

"Why would he be coming after you?" Deeks asked.

"I guess he blames me for putting him behind bars."

"Why go after you and not the other member of the team?" Kensi asked.

"Because he died shortly after that mission. He was shot during us taking him down. He died 2 days later in the hospital from his injuries."

"Why not take you directly?" Deeks said.

"Because he's trying to lure me out and punish me, like he think I punished him. He had a wife and a 3 month old son when we captured him. They gave them a new identity and put them somewhere safe."

"Guys, I've got a report on him," Nell said. "It says that 3 days ago Sharov escaped from prison."

Callen's cell began to rang, he looked at the caller ID, it was Lori calling him.

"Eric, get a trace on this," Callen said and he answered the phone. "Hello."

"Well hello Agent Callen, you have a beautiful family," Sharov said.

"We know what you're up to Sharov and it's not gonna work. We will find you."

"Oh I have no doubt you will, but the question is will you find your girls too."

"What do you want Sharov?"

"I want you to suffer, just like I have suffered. Thanks to you my son has grown up somewhere without me."

"You have yourself to blame for that, not me."

"You put me in jail! If it hadn't been for you I'd still be with them. I tried to find them, but I couldn't find them anywhere and no one has seen them since I went to jail. What have you done with them?!"

"They are somewhere where you can't hurt them. This can end two ways for you. You let them go and turn yourself in."

"And the other way?"

"We'll hunt you down and put you in an even worse place then you were in before."

"I don't think you're in the position to be making threats Agent Callen. I still hold all the cards," Sharov said and he hung up.

"Did you get him Eric?"

"Yeah, he's in a warehouse in Inglewood. Address is on your phones," Eric said.

"Can you see if Lori's there?"

"Checking camera's now," Eric said and he went back to his computer. Eric spotted him arriving with Lori and the girls and there was no footage of them leaving.

The team went to the armory to gear up and they took the van to the warehouse.

"Remember guys, be careful. We don't know where's he's holding Lori. Check every door but be aware of Sharov. Only kill him if you have to until we have Lori," Callen said and the others nodded.

They moved into the building and spread out. Sam and Callen going one way and Kensi and Deeks the other. They checked every door they came across.

"We've found Sharov," Kensi said over the com. "No sign of Lori though."

"We're gonna keep searching. Try to take him down without killing him until we have Lori," Callen said.

"Got it. Federal agents! Hold it right there!" Kensi said and she pointed her gun at Sharov but she had to duck away because he shot at them and the fired back trying not to kill him.

Callen and Sam kept checking the doors. Every door they come across had so far was open, but the next door they came across was locked. Lori heard noises outside her door, she hoped it was Callen but she wasn't sure so she grabbed Myra and Julie and held them close to her, trying to protect them. The next thing she knew the door was being kicked in and she saw Callen and Sam move into the room.

"G," Lori said when she saw him walked into the room and she put the girls back down in their car seats and walked up to Callen and flew into his arms.

"It's okay Lori, I've got you," Callen said as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on her head.

"We've got Lori guys," Sam said through the com.

"Copy that," Kensi said and she shot at Sharov again, this time she hit him and he fell down to the floor. Deeks quickly went over to him and cleared him of his gun and checked if he was dead.

"He's dead," Deeks said.

"It's okay Lori, it's over honey. We got him. He's not going to hurt you anymore," Callen said.

"I was so worried. Not for my safety but for the girls," Lori said.

Callen cupped her face in his hands. "Are you okay honey? Did he hurt you or the girls?"

"No he didn't hurt me and the girls are fine too."

"Good. I was so worried about you three," Callen said and he kissed her. Just as he kissed her Myra decided to start crying.

Callen took his riffle off and went over to her and picked her up.

"Hey Myra, it's okay. Daddy's here," Callen said as he rocked her. Myra calmed down once she was in her father's arms. "Come on let's get out of here."

Lori grabbed Julie and Myra's car seat and Sam got Callen's gun and they walked back to the van.

"Hey Lori, good to see you again," Kensi said as she hugged Lori.

"Thanks Kens," Lori said.

"I already called the coroner's office for them to pick up Sharov's body. They should be here any minute."

"Good."

They stayed until the coroner took Sharov away and they returned to the office.

"Glad to have you back Ms. Carter," Hetty said when they walked in. "Are all three of you alright?"

"Yes we're fine Hetty."

"You may go home Mr. Callen and be with your family."

"Thank you Hetty," Callen said and he went to the bullpen to grab his bag when Eric came down the stairs.

"Welcome back Lori," Eric said.

"Thanks."

"I managed to find your car Sharov took; unfortunately he set it on fire, so it's completely burned out."

"Damn."

"Don't worry about your car Ms. Carter. We'll issue you a new one."

"That's fine."

"Now go home and spend some time with your family."

Callen took them home and he sat down on the couch with Myra and Julie and Lori sat down next to them.

"Daddy missed you," Callen said and he gave them both a kiss. "And I missed you too. I'm glad you're alright." Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss too.

"I missed you too sweetie. What did that guy want from you? He told me he blamed you for something and this was payback."

"I captured him in Russia when I was with the DEA, taking him away from his family."

"So know he wanted to take your family away from you?"

"Yes I think that was his plan. But I wasn't going to let him do that. I'm sorry I put you all in danger."

"Hey honey," Lori said and she placed a hand on his cheek and turned his face towards her. "It's not your fault. There was no way you could know that he would escape from prison and come after you. We're fine honey."

"I'm just worried someone might come after you again because of me."

"Honey, you can't stop every evil that is out there. And you can't worry too much about that. If you do you might miss some wonderful things along the way. It just comes with this job, we both know that."

"I just hope it doesn't get you or one of the girls hurt."

"We'll be fine honey," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

They sat on the couch together for a while before Julie started to cry. Lori got up to warm her bottle.

"Here sweetie, you can feed her," Lori said as she placed to bottle next to him and took Myra from his hands.

"It's okay Julie, here's the bottle," Callen said as he placed to pacifier into her mouth and she immediately started sucking on it. "You're a hungry little girl aren't you?"

Lori watched as Callen was feeding Julie and a little later Myra started to cry too. She was hungry too. Lori lifted her shirt up and exposed her breast and Myra latched on immediately. They stayed together on the couch until the girls had fallen asleep. Callen and Lori both put them in their cribs for their afternoon nap. They looked so peaceful sleeping and sucking on their pacifiers. Callen quietly closed the door and the minute they were out he pulled Lori back to him and he kissed her hard and passionately. Lori's arms locked around his neck and Callen wrapped his around her waist.

"I love you Lori," Callen said once he broke away to get some air.

"I love you too G."

"I don't know what I would have done if something happened to either one of you."

"But nothing happened to us, so you don't have to think about that."

"I would love to take you to our bedroom right now and show you how much I love you."

"I'd love that too. But as much as I would love to do that, we can't. I'm not ready yet, psychically that is."

"I know, I know honey."

"But that doesn't mean that we can't just lie on the bed and just kiss," Lori said and she kissed Callen again. Callen picked her up bridal style and carried her to the bed.

They stayed there kissing until Myra and Julie woke up. They had a nice dinner together and they went to bed around 10pm. Callen lay close to Lori keeping his arm around her. Around 3am Callen woke up by Lori moving around in the bed and talking in her sleep.

"No, no get away from me. No! Get your hands off of them!" Lori said.

"Lori, honey, it's okay. It's just a bad dream," Callen said as he tried to wake her up.

"NO!" Lori screamed as she shook up in the bed.

"Honey, it's okay. I'm here. It was just a bad dream," Callen said as he stroked her back.

"G?" Lori asked as she tried to get a grasp on reality back.

"Yeah it's me sweetie, you're safe."

"The girls?"

"They are asleep safely in their cribs. Don't worry Lori, everything's fine," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Come on, let's go back to sleep."

"In a minute," Lori said and she got out of bed and went to the babies' room. She was glad to see they were safely and peacefully asleep in their cribs.

Lori walked back to the bedroom and lay back down on the bed and crawled against Callen, resting her head against his chest.

"See, I told you they were fine," Callen said.

"Could you hold me honey?" Lori asked.

"Of course," Callen wrapped his arms around her and pulled Lori even closer. "I'm here for you, sweetie." He gave her a kiss on her head and lay his head down on hers and they fell asleep again.

When Lori woke up the next morning Callen was already out of bed and he was feeding Myra. Lori walked into the living room and saw Callen sitting there with Myra and Julie was lying in her playpen.

"Good morning G."

"Good morning Lori. Sleep alright?"

"Yeah after I woke up I fell asleep again and slept the whole night through."

"That's good."

"Has Julie been fed yet?"

"Yes she has."

"Okay good. Want some breakfast too?"

"No thanks, I already had."

"Honey, I have to go to work in a couple minutes, will you be okay today?" Callen said as he walked into the kitchen after he was done feeding Myra.

"I'll be fine sweetie. Don't worry. And I'll call you if something's up okay," Lori said as she gave Callen a kiss before walking to the living room and turning on the TV.

Callen grabbed his stuff and put it by the door and he went to say goodbye to Myra and Julie and then to Lori.

"See you later Lori. Just call me if you need me okay," Callen said.

"I will, have a good day."

"I will, you too," Callen said and he gave her another kiss and then left for work.

….

"How's Lori doing?" Sam asked once Callen sat down at his desk.

"She's fine. She woke up once this night with a nightmare but other than that she's fine."

"Good and Myra and Julie?"

"They are fine. I think they're too young to understand what happened."

"Yeah probably."

They had a pretty quiet day today. No new cases so they could finish with their paperwork and some ongoing cases. It was around 5.30pm when Callen walked into the house.

"Hey Lori, I'm home," Callen said as he walked into the house.

"Hey G, I'm in the tub," Lori called from the bathroom.

Callen walked into the bathroom and saw Lori sitting in the tub with Myra and Julie. Lori had put them in little baby floaters.

"Hey you three," Callen said as he walked over and gave Lori a kiss.

"Hey honey, how was your day?"

"It was fine, lot of paperwork today. Hey Myra, hey Julie," Callen said as he tickled their tummies.

"Yeah that was daddy," Lori said as the babies smiled a little. Maybe daddy wants to join us too."

"Sure," Callen said and he took his clothes, shoes and underwear off and joined them in the tub.

They enjoyed themselves in the tub until the water went cold. Callen went out first and he dried himself off and he dried Julie off and he went to put her back in her playpen and then dried Myra off. Lori stayed in the tub until all the water had run out and she went out too and got dressed and started on dinner. When she went to call Callen that dinner was ready she saw him lying on the floor with Julie. He was holding her above him like a plane and then he would bring her down and blow kisses on her tummy. Lori couldn't help but laugh as she saw them.

"Hey honey," Callen said when he'd heard Lori laugh.

"Hey sweetie, having fun with Julie?"

"Yes I am."

"Well sorry but the fun's over, dinner is ready."

"Alright," Callen said and he put Julie back in her playpen and they had dinner.

….

Myra and Julie were now 6 weeks old. Callen and Lori had gotten used to having twins at home, sure there were a lot of sleepless nights and not much time for each other, mostly one of them would start crying when they were spending some quality time together, but they loved the girls very much and they were very grateful to have them in their lives and to have each other.

Callen was sitting in the living room holding Myra and Julie while Lori was doing some laundry. She walked back into the kitchen and she heard Callen talking to the girls.

"You two are so beautiful. Daddy is very lucky to have you and mommy in his life right now. Daddy loves you both very much and daddy loves mommy very much too. Daddy is very happy to have you and mommy. Even though it was a surprise when mommy was pregnant with you that doesn't mean daddy loves you any less cus of that. Daddy was a bit scared in the beginning but since you two very born that was completely taken over with love and I'm very glad everything was okay with you. Daddy was so afraid that something would happen to you or to mommy just before you were born. I don't what I would do with any of you in my life," Callen said and he gave both of the girls a kiss.

Lori heard him talking in the kitchen and tears started forming in her eyes. She walked into the living room and without saying anything she walked over to Callen and gave him a very passionately kiss.

"What was that for?" Callen said.

"Just cus I love you very much. And I heard you talking in the kitchen," Lori said.

"You heard that?"

"Yes I did and it was really sweet," Lori said as she sat down next to Callen and lay her head down on his shoulder and just looked at Myra and Julie. "I'm really happy with the three of you too honey."

"Me too honey and I love you too," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head and the four of them just sat there until the phone rang.

Lori got up to answer the phone.

"Hello," Lori said.

"Hey Lori," Susan said.

"Hey Mom."

"How's everything there?"

"Everything is really good. The girls are sitting with Greg at the moment. They've almost fallen asleep."

"That's good and how are you and Greg doing?'

"We're doing very well. Happy to have Myra and Julie and we've started planning our wedding again."

"That's very good. Got a date yet?"

"Yes, May 10th. But you'll receive and official invitation for that. We wanna pick something else then we had last time. Probably something that symbolizes the girls too."

"That's very nice sweetie. And if there's anything I can help you guys with just let me know okay."

"I will mom. I'll send you some pictures soon of Myra and Julie, they've really grown even more then last time you saw them."

"Yeah they grow up so fast, before you know it they're walking and talking and before you know it they'll be off to school."

"All the more reason to enjoy the time with them now as little babies."

"Yes, enjoy the time. I've gotta go sweetie, got a meeting."

"That's fine mom. Thanks for calling and say hello to dad for me."

"Will do. Bye bye sweetie."

….

"Morning Sam," Callen said as he walked into the bullpen.

"Morning G," Sam said. "Oh G, would it be okay if me, Michelle and the kids dropped by your house sometime? My kids are dying to meet your little girls. Ever since I told them that Uncle Callen had two little girls they can't stop talking about it."

"Uhm sure that's fine. I'll talk to Lori when you guys can come over."

"Alright, let me know."

Soon after that Kensi and Deeks walked in and Eric whistled them up for a new case.

A Mexican terrorist organization was threatening to blow up federal and naval buildings in LA. After several hours of investigating they found a way in. Callen had to go undercover. They found out that a new member was going to join them today. He was a local. He had the same height and build as Callen and they were confident that they had not met before so they had no idea what he looked like. Callen send of a quick text to Lori saying that he had to go undercover and that he had no idea how long it would last. Callen knew this had to be done, but he didn't like doing it because he would be away from Lori, Myra and Julie for a while and Lori didn't like it either, she would worry about him too much. But they both know this had to be done sometimes because of their job.

They team intercepted the person who was supposed to go in and Callen went in in his place. Everything went good so far, Callen was in. He was there to take care of the logistics of their plan. A week went by and everything was going fine. Callen knew they were getting close to execute the plan. Callen had managed to let his team mates now where they were going to plant the bombs. When they had just planted the bomb in the first building the walked back to the van but they were stopped by Sam, Kensi, Deeks and other federal agents.

"Federal agents, hold it right there!" Sam said and he saw Callen with them.

They all held their hands up and Sam saw that one of them had a device in their hands.

"Put it down on the floor slowly!" Sam saw his finger moving towards the button. "You don't wanna do this!"

"Oh I think I do," the man said and he pushed down on the button. "You've got 15 minutes to deactivate the bomb."

The next they knew bullets were flying everywhere.

"Sam can you get to the bomb to deactivate it?" Kensi asked.

"No, I can't get through without being shot at," Sam said. Sam looked down on his watch and saw that the 15 minutes were almost up. "Everybody out!"

They all ran as fast as they could to the exit. They made it out just in time before the building blew up behind them sending them flying through the air.

"Status anyone?" Hetty asked from OPS.

"We're good Hetty," Sam said.

"And Mr. Callen?"

"Don't see him yet. G!"

Sam looked around desperately trying to find his partner but he was nowhere to be seen.


	17. Chapter 17

"Kensi, Deeks, find G," Sam said.

All three of them looked around trying to find Callen. They found some of the other guys. They were all dead so far. Sam was looking through some rubble when he thought he heard somebody cough. He stood still and listened and he heard somebody coughing again. It sounded like his partner to him. He moved in the direction of the sound.

"G!" Sam called.

"Sam," Callen spoke in a weak voice.

Sam found him under some rubble and he quickly removed the rubble off of him.

"You good G?" Sam asked as he helped his partner up.

"Yeah I'm good. Just a few cuts and bruises. I'll be fine," Callen said.

"Alright, let's get you checked over anyway," Sam said as the paramedics arrived.

"I'm fine Sam, I don't need to be checked over," Callen protested.

"Sure you don't. Where's that blood on your arm coming from then?" Sam said and Callen looked at his arm. He had a pretty big cut on his arm.

"You okay Callen?" Kensi asked as they walked up to them.

"I'm good. What about the other guys?"

"They are all death."

"Do you know if they already made other bombs as well?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, we were gonna deliver that after this one. It should be in the van. It's around back."

"Alright, we'll send the bomb squad there."

They were all patched up and the finished up there.

…

Lori was at home. She couldn't help but have this bad feeling about the case. She hadn't heard anything from Callen in a while, but she did know that something was going down today. She just couldn't help the feeling that something was going to happen to Callen. The babies felt her worry and they started crying too. Julie had finally stopped crying and she put her in her crib, but Myra was still crying. She walked through the living room, rocking her, trying to calm her down.

"Shh sweetie, daddy will be home soon. I'm sure everything is alright with daddy," Lori said mostly to convince herself.

Lori was too busy calming Myra down that she didn't hear or see the door being opened.

"Shhh sweetie it's okay. Daddy will be right here."

"Daddy is already here," Callen said which made Lori slightly jump.

"G! You're back. Oh my god, are you okay?" Lori said as she saw the blood on his sleeve and some cuts on his face.

"I'm fine honey. Just some cuts and bruises."

"I was so worried about you," Lori said and she walked up to him and gave him a kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"And the girls missed you too."

"Yeah, I missed them too. Hey Myra it's alright, daddy's here," Callen said as he grabbed Myra for Lori and Myra already calmed down a bit once she was in her father's arms.

"I think they felt my worries for you, they have been crying a lot today. Julie is finally asleep," Lori said and at the same moment Julie started crying too. "Was asleep. I'll get here."

She walked to the babies' room and picked up Julie.

"Did you notice that your daddy was home huh?" Lori said as she walked back to the living room. Callen sat down on the couch with Myra. "Here's the other girl who missed her daddy too." Lori handed the baby to Callen.

"Hey Julie, it's okay, daddy's home again. Daddy missed you and mommy very much," Callen said and he gave them both a kiss. "I'm glad to be home again, I missed you girls."

"We missed you too sweetie," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss. "I'm really glad you're home and that you're alright. I really had this bad feeling today that something was gonna happen to you."

"Well you were half right. We barely made it out of the building before it exploded. But I'm fine honey, don't worry. They already checked me over and I'm fine."

"Okay. That's good. So the undercover mission is over now?"

"Yes, it's over and the case is wrapped up."

"Good, cus I don't think I'd be able to be one more day without you and not knowing what was going on."

"Oh honey, I get that this must be stressful and worrying for you. But sometimes I have to do this."

"I know, I know. It's our job. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it. I'm just worried that something might happen to you and I miss you here with me and the girls miss you too."

"I miss you too sweetie when I'm gone. And I promise you that nothing's gonna happen to me. I'm not leaving my three girls," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They sat there for a little while on the couch before Julie started crying.

"I think she's hungry," Lori said and she walked to the kitchen to warm up her bottle. "Here you go G, you can feed her."

Lori took Myra from Callen and handed him the bottle. Julie immediately started drinking.

"I'm glad the girls are eating so well," Callen said.

"Yeah me too. They are both doing very well."

"Yes they are. I'm glad they are alright after they were born with an emergency c-section. That scared the hell out of me."

"Yeah me too. But there are very healthy and growing very good."

"Yes they are. I can't believe how much they've grown since we brought them home from the hospital."

"Yeah me neither, just think of how big they will be when we get married. Maybe they can even walk a few steps by our hands then."

"Yeah maybe. Now that you mention that, what will the girls be wearing?"

"I will pick that out with Kensi when we're going for my dress fitting."

"Okay that's good."

"And I was thinking that my sister and Michelle could carry the girls down the aisle after Sam's daughter comes down as the flower girl, and after them will come Kensi and they me and my dad."

"That's a very good idea. I can't wait to see you walked down that aisle in your beautiful wedding dress."

"I'm sure you're gonna be blown away when you see me in my dress," Lori said and as soon as she said that she regretted it. "Woops sorry, bad choice of words."

"It's okay honey. I'm sure I will be. Doesn't matter what sort of dress you'll be wearing, I'm sure it's gonna look great on you. And I'm pretty sure that afterwards I won't be able to resist taking it off," Callen said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh you," Lori said and she gave him a light shove in his arm.

"What? It's just the truth."

"Well in that case, I'm pretty sure too then that I won't be able to resist taking your suit off."

"I'm pretty sure it's gonna be an amazing day and night."

"Yeah me too."

"What about the girls?"

"I already talked to Michelle about that. They will go home with their babysitter and they'll look after them until my parents will pick them up and they'll bring them back to our house and they'll stay there until we get back."

"Alright that's fine."

"We'll plan it further this weekend. See what stuff we still have to take care of."

"That's fine."

They spent the rest of the day together just hanging out with Myra and Julie.

….

That Saturday they sat down to look over their wedding plans when the girls were asleep in the morning.

They were looking at wedding invitations on the internet.

"Look, you can make your own here. We could do that and then add a picture of us and the girls or something," Lori said.

"Yeah I'd like that."

They fumbled around a bit while trying to make an invitation that they were both happy with. After a while they were both happy with it and they calculated how many they would need and they sent the order in.

"Well that's done. Let's see what else do we need. We've got the clothes, booked a hotel for my family where they can stay overnight and of course the honeymoon suit for us, wedding place and reception place is booked. Oh yeah that's reminds me they called and they want us over Tuesday evening to go over the menu and such and the minister wants to see us next Saturday to go over the ceremony."

"Alright that's fine."

"Let's see. Oh yeah the cake of course. We'll go down to the bakery later when the girls are awake to pick one out and they we can got to city hall too to get our new marriage license and then we can also stop by the jewelry story to pick out our wedding rings."

"Oh yes the cake and rings of course."

"And we have to hire a photographer and band or DJ for the reception. And we have to look at the place setting for the wedding and the reception and also transportation for us. I don't know how you were planning on going to the wedding."

"Me? I thought we were going together?"

"No we're not. In fact I'm not even sleeping here the night before our wedding."

"Really?"

"Yep, it's bad luck for us to sleep together the night before the wedding, so I'm gonna stay over at Michelle's and Sam will come here to keep you company. I already talked about that with Michelle."

"Oh okay that's fine. I'll probably ride with Sam then. And how are you gonna go?"

"You'll see when we'll leave for our wedding night."

"Okay, now you're just teasing me."

"Maybe," Lori said and she gave him a cheeky smile.

Callen replied her smile by giving a kiss and he pushed her down the couch and he lay on top of her. He kissed her on the lips for a while before he moved his lips to her neck and he found her sweet spot.

"Oh G baby," Lori moaned as he found her sweet spot.

A few seconds later they were disturbed by the babies crying.

"I'll get them," Callen said and he walked over to the babies' room.

"Hey you two. You know, you two have terrible timing about when to start crying," Callen said as he picked them up. "Come on you two, let's go see mommy." Callen walked back to the living room. "Hey mommy, look who's here."

"Hey you two," Lori said and she grabbed Julie before Callen sat down.

"Okay where were we with our wedding plans. Oh yeah also a florist to decorate the wedding venue, but I'll go do that since I know what colors will go good with my dress and the ones of the bridesmaids. And then I'll also pick out a bouquet for me and the bridesmaids and corsages for you, Sam and the guests and flowers for Sam's daughter. Do you also wanna go on a honeymoon?"

"Uhm I hadn't thought about that. I'd like to, but what about the girls? And I don't know if we can get the time off from work."

"I'm sure Hetty will give both of us time off for that and as for the girls, I'm sure my parents or Sam and Michelle would be more than happy to take care of them."

"Alright we'll talk about that later. I'll ask Hetty if we can get the time off."

"Alright. I think so far we have everything then for the moment. I'll go make us some lunch so we can go shopping later," Lori said as she handed Julie back to Callen.

They had lunch and fed, changed and dressed the girls to go out. They put them in their car seats and drove to the shopping center. First they headed to the bakery.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The owner said.

"We would like to order a wedding cake," Lori said.

"Well congratulations to you two, come on over here we'll go through what you guys want," the owner said and he led them over to a table and he grabbed some books and pen and paper. "Alright, first of all you've gotta look at what kind of cake you want to have. Big, small, with layers, flat one. Here are some examples."

Callen and Lori looked at the book.

"I like this one sweetie," Lori said and she pointed to one of the cakes.

"Isn't that a little big honey?"

"We also have that in smaller sizes," the owner said and he flipped the book over.

"See, that's a little smaller. I like that one," Callen said.

"Yeah, that one looks good."

"Alright, so you're gonna go with that one?"

Callen and Lori looked at each other. "Yes we are."

"Alright, and what kind of flavor would you like?"

"Uhm, what do you think honey?" Callen asked.

"I think it would be best to go with something light. I think something like chocolate would be too much."

"Well, we have a lot or other varieties. We have something with fruit, like lemon or strawberry."

"Lemon sounds nice. What do you think sweetie?" Lori said.

"I think lemon is very nice. We'll go with the lemon."

"Alright, would you also like some decorations on the cake?"

"I think that would be nice," Lori said.

The owner flipped the book to the decorations and Lori and Callen looked at it.

"These are nice Lori."

"Hearts? They are nice, but that's so cliché I think. I want something different, something that's us."

They looked a little further and found a nice set of decorations and they also picked a bride and groom for on top of the cake and also two that symbolized Myra and Julie.

"Alright, well now everything's settle. When does the cake need to be ready?"

"10th of May," Callen said.

"Alright then I would like you two to drop by 1st of May to sample the cake we made."

"Alright that's fine."

"Well thank you for ordering your cake with us and we'll do everything to make sure that the cake is absolutely perfect."

"Thank you," Lori said and they shook hands and left the store. "Well that's taken care of."

"Yes it is. I love doing this with you, planning our wedding," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"I love doing this too. Come on let's go pick out our rings."

They walked into the jewelry store and were helped by one of the salespersons to pick out their rings.

"I like this one G."

"Well that's the most expensive one there honey."

"I know. I was just joking, sort of."

"I think this one would go perfectly on your finger," the saleswoman said.

"That one is nice. What do you think G?"

"I think it looks very good on your finger. It's beautiful."

"We also have the male version of this ring, that's this one."

"That's a beautiful ring for you honey."

"Yeah it looks good. I think we should go with these."

"Yes I think we should."

"Alright, would you like something engraved in it?"

"I think that would be nice," Callen said.

"What would you like to have engraved?"

"I think the names of our girls and our wedding date," Lori said.

"I think that's very nice," Callen said.

They gave their names and their wedding date and they could pick the rings up 4 weeks before the wedding.

Before going to city hall they sat down for something to drink and to feed the girls. They went to city hall and got their marriage license and now they had their notice of marriage.

They went back home and put the girls down for their naps.

"That was really nice doing all that stuff with you. It's finally happening now, we're getting married," Callen said.

"Yeah we are," Lori said and Callen kissed her.

"Wait, you're not gonna run away again right?" Callen said and he got a light shove in his chest for that.

"No I'm not gonna run. This time I'm staying right here with you and you'll see me walking down that aisle and we'll be husband and wife."

"Yes we will," Callen said and he kissed her again.

….

The next day Sam and Michelle dropped by with their kids.

"Hey guys," Lori said as she opened the door. "Come on in."

"Hey Uncle Callen," Sam's daughter said and she walked over to the couch were Callen sat with Myra and Julie and she sat down next to him.

"Hey sweetie, you came to see Myra and Julie?" Callen said.

"Yes I did."

They all watched how she and Callen interacted with Myra and Julie.

"They look really cute," Michelle said.

"Yeah they are. I can't believe how big they've already gotten," Lori said.

"Honey, they grow so fast."

"Yeah they do."

"But it seems like you and Callen are doing just fine."

"Yeah we are, we like having them here. Although sometimes it's hard work having twins."

"Yeah I can imagine."

"Well have a seat, would you like something to drink?"

Lori went to the kitchen to get something to drink and they just chatted for the rest of the afternoon. Sam's kids loved spending time with Myra and Julie.

…

"How's the wedding planning going?" Sam asked as they were driving to a suspect.

"It's going very well. We've got a lot of things taken care of already and tonight we'll meet with the owner of the wedding venue to go over things."

"Very well. I'm happy to see you've finally settled down."

"I've gotta tell you I like it very much. I never thought I would like it and that I would be any good at it. But it's nice to have someone to come home to and to have two little girls with the woman that I love. That's very nice. I love the three of them very much."

"That's good. I'm happy for you G."

"Thanks. Oh yeah that reminds me. We were talking about the ceremony and we wondered if you would like to say something during the ceremony or during the reception as my best man."

"Sure, I'd be happy to if you want me to."

"Great."

They were very busy with the case and it was already 7 o'clock and they were still not finished. He decided to call Lori.

"Hey G, where are you? We're supposed to be there at 7.30," Lori said.

"I know honey, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it. I'm still stuck at work."

"What?! G, you promised you'd be there."

"I know sweetie. But we've got to finish this case. I'm sorry."

"Fine, I'll just go by myself," Lori said and she hung up the phone and Callen threw his phone down on his desk.

"Everything okay G?" Sam asked.

"I think Lori's pissed at me," Callen said and he went back to work.

Lori went to the appointment by herself. She had asked Michelle to look after the girls. She talked with the owner about what they could offer them there and what they had to take care of themselves if they wanted to. Lori looked over the menu with him and picked out a few things. By 9.30 she was back at home and Callen still wasn't there.

"Hey Lori, how did it go?" Michelle asked.

"It went fine. Just took some sample menu's home so I can go over them with G."

"That's fine. Well the girls are sound asleep, didn't even wake up once."

"That's good to hear. And thank you for coming over to babysit."

"It's my pleasure, I'll see you later," Michelle said and Lori helped her carry the kids to the car and Michelle went home.

Just as Lori was back into the house the girls started crying. Lori fed and changed them both and after they had fallen back asleep Lori went to bed too.

It was almost 11.30 when Callen came into the house. He went into the babies' room and found them both asleep. He gave them a quick kiss before he walked into his bedroom. He saw Lori asleep in the bed. He quietly pulled of his clothes and joined her in the bed and he crawled close to her and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey honey, I'm home," Callen said.

Lori didn't say anything; she just turned around in the bed with her back towards him. Callen was half expecting this. She sounded angry on the phone. Callen crawled a little closer to her and he placed a kiss on her shoulder and then worked his way up to her neck.

"G," Lori said still half asleep.

"Yeah honey, it's me. I'm home."

"Great, now will you let me go back to sleep please."

"Of course," Callen said and he gave her another kiss and he lay down next to her.

"I'm not in the mood to cuddle tonight G," Lori said as she threw his arm off of her.

"Honey, I'm sorry I missed our appointment tonight. I was stuck at work; there was no way I could leave. I'm sorry sweetie."

"I don't wanna talk about it right now."

Callen lay back down on his back and had his hands behind his head.

Callen was in the shower the next morning when Lori woke up. Myra and Julie were still asleep so she let them sleep. She walked into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Callen came out of the bathroom and he heard that Lori was in the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and hugged her from behind.

"Good morning sweetie," Callen said and he gave her a kiss in her neck.

"G, not now I'm making breakfast."

"Lori, please not with that again. Look I'm sorry I missed our appointment last night okay. I wanted to be there but we got a pressing case at work. I'm sorry."

"Fine, whatever," Lori said and she wanted to walk away but Callen stopped her and pulled her towards him.

Lori was against his chest and she looked into his blue eyes and before she could do anything he kissed her. Lori first wanted to push him away for kissing her like that but she couldn't, because he felt so damn good. She threw her arms around his neck and Callen's around wrapped his around her waist.

"I'm sorry sweetie," Callen said when they finally broke apart for air.

"I'm sorry too sweetie. I was just angry that you couldn't make it. I wanted you there too since it's our wedding."

"I know honey, I know honey. I wanted to be there too."

"I know sweetie," Lori said and she gave him another kiss. "It's a good thing that I brought home some sample menus so we can go over them together."

"I'd like that. We'll do that tonight when I'm home from work okay."

"Okay."

They were making breakfast when the girls woke up. Callen went to get them and got them dressed.

"Hey good morning my two little sweeties," Lori said when Callen walked into the kitchen. "You two look so cute in matching outfits."

"Yeah they really do. I've gotta go to work, I'll see you later," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Be good to mommy today you two," Callen said and he gave Myra and Julie a kiss too and he put them in their bouncy chairs. "See ya honey."

"Bye G."

Callen came home about 6pm. He walked into the house and Lori was just walking out of the kitchen.

"There's my beautiful fiancé," Callen said and he walked up to her and picked her up and spun her round before kissing her.

"Hey honey, well that was a nice homecoming."

"I just missed you today," Callen said and he gave her another kiss.

"I missed you too sweetie."

"Mmmm, what smells so good in here?"

"That would be dinner."

"Yum, I'm starving."

Callen went to say hello to Myra and Julie before they had dinner. By 8 the girls were asleep in their cribs and Callen and Lori sat down to talk about the menu.

"What do you have Lori?"

"Well I have picked out some dishes that I liked and that I thought you'd like too. He said it would be best to have 2 dishes for each course."

They looked through the dishes Lori had picked out and they soon agreed on a menu that they would serve at their wedding. They choose chicken soup and carpaccio as appetizers, pork tenderloin and salmon as main courses and ice cream or cheese cake as dessert. They choose the other stuff that the venue could provided in terms of decorations. And they made the place setting.

"Well that's taken care off too. When do we have to go back there?" Callen said.

"I told him I would call him later this week with the things we'd like."

"Alright that's fine."

The rest of the evening they looked at photographers and entertainment. They picked out a couple and made appointments with them.

"I can't wait till it's our wedding day," Callen said.

"I know me neither. I can totally picture you already standing down the aisle watching me walking up to you."

"Oh yeah I can totally picture you already in your beautiful dress and then a little later we'll be husband and wife."

"Yes we will."

Callen picked Lori up, bridal style, and kissed her while he carried her to their bedroom and he gently placed her on the bed and he lay down on top of her, still kissing her. His hands went down to the hem of her shirt and he slid them under. He was glad when Lori didn't flinch or told him to stop. He moved them up till he reached her bra.

"G, honey."

"Yeah honey," Callen said, still kissing her.

"As much as I love doing this, I think we should wait."

"You're not ready yet?" Callen said as he stopped kissing her.

"No I think I'm ready. It's just…. I think it would be nice to wait till our wedding night."

"Till our wedding night? That's like 7 months away."

"I know honey, but I would like that I think. It would make our wedding night that much more special. You and me, together for the first time since the girls have been born."

"Yeah I have to admit it sounds nice. I just don't know if I'll be able to wait that long. I love you so much and I enjoy making love to you."

"I love you very much too and I enjoy that too. I know it's a long wait, but I think it'll be worth it."

"Alright then, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna kiss you like this," Callen said and he kissed her neck.

"Oh no that's fine. I like it when you do that."

They kissed for a few more minutes before going to sleep.

…

That Saturday they met with the minister and went over everything they wanted during the ceremony. They were very happy with all the things that were going to be said during the ceremony and they decided to recite vows to each other.

They went back home and put the girls in their playpens. About 15 minutes later Kensi knocked on the door.

"Hey Lori, you ready to go?" Kensi said. They were going to the florist today.

"Yeah I'm good to go. See you later G," Lori said and she gave him a kiss.

"See ya."

"You'll be okay right, with the girls?"

"Don't worry honey, we'll be fine. I know where everything is they might need so don't worry."

"Alright, see ya later."

They went over to the florist and they picked out a bouquet for Lori and for the bridesmaids and some flowers for Sam's daughter and then corsages. They also picked out flowers to decorate the wedding venue.

About 2 hours later they had everything ordered and they went back to the car. They waited for the light to go on green before they crossed the street. When the light hit green they crossed the street. Just went they were in the middle of the street they heard a car screeching towards them. Before anyone knew it he drove into the people who were crossing the street.


	18. Chapter 18

Everyone dove away as fast as they could. Kensi grabbed her gun and shot after the car and a little later the car crashed against one of the street lights. A nearby police car stopped in front of the car and went to check on the driver. Kensi looked back at the ravage the car had caused. Kensi quickly looked around trying to find Lori and she found her lying on the street.

"Lori!" Kensi yelled and she ran up to her.

Kensi carefully turned her around and saw the head wound she had and that she was unconscious. She quickly pulled her phone out and called the accident in. A little later the place was crawling with EMT's and police officers. One of the ambulances loaded Lori in and took her to the hospital. Kensi followed in her car. Once she came to the hospital Lori was already rushed up to surgery.

Kensi pulled her phone out and called Callen.

"Hey Kens, what's up?" Callen said when he answered the phone.

"Hey Callen," Kensi said and Callen heard in her voice that something was up.

"Kens, what's wrong?"

"It's Lori, she's been in an accident. She's in the hospital right now."

"WHAT?!" Callen yelled causing Myra and Julie to stir. "How is she?"

"I don't know. She's in surgery right now."

"Alright I'm on my way," Callen said and he hung up the phone and put Myra and Julie in their car seats and drove to the hospital.

He got to the hospital and put Myra and Julie in their stroller and he walked up to the surgical floor and found Kensi sitting in the waiting room.

"Kensi, any news?"

"No not yet."

"What happened?"

"We were crossing the street and a car ran a red light and drove into the crowd. I didn't see what happened but I guess the car must have hit Lori. She was unconscious and she had a pretty nasty head wound."

"Damn it!"

Myra and Julie started to stir again.

"It's okay, mommy will be fine," Callen said and he sat down and pulled them into his arms, trying to calm them down.

Callen noticed that Julie was getting hungry so he handed Myra to Kensi and he pulled out a bottle and he asked the desk clerk if she could warm it up for him and he handed another bottle for Myra too, he figured Myra would be hungry too soon. She warmed the bottles up and gave them back to Callen. Callen sat back in the chair and fed Julie. While he was feeding Julie Myra started crying too, she was hungry too. He grabbed the other bottle and handed it to Kensi.

"Uhm I'm not sure how to do it," Kensi said.

"It's okay Kens, just put the pacifier in her mouth and hold the bottle up a little bit," Callen said.

"Like this?" Kensi said once she had put the bottle to Myra's mouth.

"Yes that's good. When she's done, hold her over your shoulder and rub her back to burp her."

About 2 hours later Lori's doctor came out of surgery. Since there were more people in the waiting room he called Lori's name. Once Callen heard her name he stood up and walked to the doctor.

"Is she alright?" Callen asked.

"She had some internal bleedings but we managed to repair them, she also has a broken leg, a couple of bruised ribs and a bruised wrist. But those will heal just fine. We're more concerned about the head wound she has. We patched it up and we're taking her to a CT-scan now. So we have to wait to see how that turns out. She'll be brought to her room shortly, you can go in her room and wait for her there," the doctor said and a nurse brought them to her room.

Callen sat down on the couch and he buried his face in his face.

"She'll be alright Callen," Kensi said as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I hope so," Callen said with his voice full of emotion but he tried to hold it together.

About 30 minutes later Lori was brought into the room. Callen watched as they got her settled in and he looked at her lying there on the bed. She was unconscious, her left leg was in a cast and her left wrist was bandaged up. Callen could see the cuts and bruises that were on her body after the accident, including her head wound, which was also bandaged up. He felt his heart sank to the floor as he watched her lying there.

Once they were finished with Lori he walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Honey, please wake up. I need you here, our girls need you. Please fight honey. I can't lose you. I love you," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

Kensi watched as Callen was talking to Lori. She had never seen their team leader like this and her heart broke for him.

"She's gonna get through this Callen," Kensi said. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

"No, it's fine. You can go if you want. Thank you."

"She'll be fine Callen. If there's anything you need, just call me."

"I will, thanks Kens."

"Hang in there," Kensi said and she placed her hand on his shoulder before leaving the room.

"Wait Kensi, what about the driver?"

"It was a DUI and he was DOA by the time the EMT's showed up."

"Good," Callen said and he saw the shocked look on Kensi's face. "I don't mean good, I'm just glad he paid for what he did."

Kensi nodded and left the room.

Callen looked from Lori to their girls. Callen hoped that he would be okay with the girls. Luckily there were still some bottles of milk in the fridge that she had filled already. Callen sat there for a while just watching her, hoping for any sign of movement. He felt like someone had just ripped his heart out. He looked at her motionless body lying on the bed. It looked like she was just sleeping, but this time Callen couldn't wake her up.

He figured he probably had to call her family. He pulled out his phone and called them.

"Hello, this is Susan," Lori's mom said when she answered.

"Hi Susan, it's Greg," Callen said.

"Hey Greg, how's it going?"

"Not so good. Lori's been in a car accident and she's in the hospital right now."

"Oh my god. Is she okay?"

"It's too soon to tell, she's still unconscious."

"Oh god. I'm getting on the first plane over there. Hang in there," Susan said and she hung up.

"Hey babe, your mom's coming over here. Could you do me a favor and wake up before she gets here?" Callen said as he squeezed her hand.

A little later the doctor came into the room with her CT results.

"Fortunately there's no swelling or bleeding in her brain so that's good," the doctor said.

"But… there's a but, isn't there?" Callen said.

"Yes. Considering the blow she took it might be very possible that she suffers from some memory loss. But that's too soon to tell now we have to wait till she wakes up. But it might be possible."

"Okay thank you doctor," Callen said and the doctor left.

Callen let himself fall down on the couch and he looked at Myra and Julie. What if she had memory loss? What if she didn't remember him or the twins? Callen just looked at his girls and prayed Lori would remember them when she woke up. A little later Myra started crying so Callen picked her up.

"Hey Myra, it's okay. Daddy's right here," Callen said as he tried to calm her down. "Shh sweetie, it's okay. Mommy's gonna be just fine. What's the matter sweetie? Are you hungry?"

Callen grabbed the bag and pulled out a bottle and the bottle warmer and warmed the bottle up. Myra was crying more and more.

"Shhh sweetie, it's coming." Once the bottle was done Callen tested it on his hand first and then tried to get Myra to drink but she wouldn't take it. "Come on sweetie, just take the bottle. I know you probably want mommy but that's not possible now. Come on sweetie, just take the bottle." Callen tried again and eventually Myra started drinking. "There's a good girl."

After Callen was done with Myra Julie started crying to, so he fed Julie too, but she didn't want the bottle at first either.

Callen knew it was going to be hard with the twins for as long as Lori was unconscious. He just hoped he would be okay with them. They missed Lori as must as he did.

After they both had been fed Callen held them both in his hands and looked at the bright blue eyes.

"Daddy promises you that he'll do everything he can to make mommy better again, cus daddy needs mommy too. But don't worry mommy's gonna be just fine. But for now you're gonna have to do with daddy alone. Promise me you'll be good to daddy."

Callen gave them both a kiss and just looked at them for a while until they had fallen asleep in his arms. He put them both back in their stroller so they could sleep.

Just as he did that Sam walked into the room.

"Hey G, Kensi told me what happened, you okay?" Sam said.

"Hey Sam, I've been better."

"How's Lori?"

"Pretty banged up, it's just a waiting game now and the doctor said there might be a chance at some memory loss," Callen said and Sam noticed the worry in his face.

"Don't worry G, she's gonna remember you and the girls."

"I hope so, I can't live without her and the girls need her too."

"I know G. But she'll remember, you just don't forget something like this."

"I hope you're right Sam."

"I know I'm right," Sam said and he squeezed Callen's shoulder.

"Thank Sam," Callen said and they gave each other a bro hug.

"Is there anything I go do for you?"

"Thanks Sam, but it's not necessary. Lori's parents are coming soon so they can look after the girls if necessary."

"Alright, if you do need me, I'm just a phone call away."

"Thanks Sam."

"Hang in there G," Sam said and he left the room.

….

About 5 hours later Lori's parents came walking through the door.

"Hey Greg," Susan said as she walked in and she gave Callen a hug. "How is she?"

"No change yet. The doctor said we have to wait till she wakes up," Callen said.

"What did he say?" Richard asked.

"He said that there's a good change she has some memory loss, but other than that everything should heal fine."

"She'll be fine Greg," Susan said.

"I'm just worried that she won't remember me or the girls."

"She will, I'm sure of that. Maybe not right away but she will definitely remember you three."

"Thanks."

They sat there for a little while before Julie started crying. Callen want to get up to get her.

"Wait, I'll get her," Susan said and she stood up and grabbed Julie. "Hey it's okay sweetie, grandma's here. Looks like someone has a wet diaper. Let's see if we have a clean one for you."

"They are in the bag," Callen said.

Susan changed her and then Myra.

During the day the members of the team had stopped by to check on her. But there was no change yet.

"Could you take Myra and Julie home please?" Callen said.

"Sure," Susan said.

"Thanks," Callen said and he handed her the house keys. "There's an extra bed in the guest room so you can use that. You know how to get to the house?"

"Yeah, we have a navigator in the car. Okay that's fine. Are you coming home later too?"

"I don't think so. If I can I'm staying here."

"That's fine. We'll come by tomorrow with the girls then. Hang in there," Susan said and she gave Callen a hug before leaving.

Just as they left Hetty walked into the room.

"How is she Mr. Callen?" Hetty said.

"No change yet. It's still a waiting game," Callen said.

"She'll be fine Mr. Callen. If you want Mr. Callen you can take a few days off from work, be here in the hospital when she wakes up."

"Thank you Hetty, I appreciate that."

"You're welcome. Where are Myra and Julie?"

"Lori's parents took them to our place."

"That's fine. Hang in there Mr. Callen, come back to the office when you're ready."

"Thank you Hetty."

Hetty left the room and Callen was alone with Lori. He looked at her lying on the bed, still in the same position as she was when they had brought her in. The doctor said that her vitals were looking good but it was just a waiting game. Callen hated this, waiting around, not being able to do something. He sank down in the couch and he buried his face in his hands and he could feel tears running down his face. Why did this have to happen? There were so happy right now with their two girls and with their wedding coming up. What if she didn't remember him and the girls? He just hoped that she would and if not he promised himself that he would do everything he could to make her remember.

Callen lay down on the couch and just stared at the ceiling and thought of his two little girls. He hoped they would be alright as long as Lori was here in the hospital. He tried to get some sleep but he knew he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. He just kept staring at the ceiling and the only sound he could hear was she sound of the machines Lori was hooked on.

After 2 hours of lying on the couch Callen got up and just stared outside the window. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He just wanted to wake her up and bring her back home, preferably with her memory.

At 7am next morning the doctor came in to check on Lori. Callen was already wide awake, he had managed to sleep one full hour last night.

"How is she doctor?" Callen asked.

"She's going in the right direction, but it's still a matter of waiting until she wakes up," the doctor said.

"And when will that be?"

"I could be within a few hours or in a few days. It's hard to say."

"Damn it."

"I understand this must be difficult sir…"

"Difficult?! You don't understand anything. She's my fiancée and we have three month old twin girls who need their mother!" The doctor was taking aback by Callen's outburst. "I'm sorry. I just want her back."

"I understand sir. I wish there was more we could do right now, but we can't do anything until she wakes up."

"I know, I'm just frustrated at this situation."

"I understand sir. You hang in there. If there's someone you need to talk to…"

"That's not necessary, but thank you."

The doctor left the room and Callen sat down next to Lori and grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you honey, please wake up. I need you, the girls need you. I love you so much honey, please just open your eyes baby," Callen said and he thought he felt her squeeze his hand but he wasn't sure. "I'm right here baby, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right her with you."

Callen sat there and looked at her for a while but there was still no sign of movement. Around 9am Lori's parents came walking in with two crying babies.

"I think they miss mommy and daddy, we couldn't get them to calm down," Susan said.

"Hey it's okay sweeties, daddy's right here," Callen said as he picked the girls up. "Did they sleep well?"

"They slept okay. Woke up twice."

"That's good. Have they been fed yet?"

"Yes, we fed and changed them before we got here."

"Okay thanks. Hey girls it's okay, daddy's got you. It's okay," Callen said as he rocked them. "I know you want mommy, but mommy can't pick you up right now. It'll be okay sweetie. Daddy's here, shhhhhh."

After about 10 minutes they finally calmed down and fell back asleep.

"How's Lori doing?" Richard asked.

"Still no change."

2 days later…..

Lori still hadn't woken up. Callen started to get restless. He even went in to the office just to punch at the punching bag and shoot some rounds. Nobody at the office had ever seen their team leader like that. When he left that day Sam walked after him.

"Everything okay G?" Sam asked.

"What do you think?" Callen spat back at him. "I'm sorry," Callen and ran his hands over his head.

"It's okay G. I get that this is hard for you, but you've gotta stay positive."

"I'm trying but she still hasn't woken up Sam."

"I know G. I'm sure she'll wake up soon and if there's anything I can do for you just let me know, like watch the girls or something."

"Thanks Sam, but Lori's parents are looking after them. But thanks for the offer."

Callen got back to the hospital and sat by Lori's side again. After a couple minutes he thought he saw her fingers move. He stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Lori honey, I'm right here, just open your eyes baby," Callen said.

Callen saw Lori trying to open her eyes and a little later her green eyes were staring back at him.

"Hey Lori, welcome back."

Lori looked around her confused. She was trying to see where she was.

"Callen? What happened?" Lori asked.

When Lori said that Callen got worried, she hadn't called him Callen in a long time.

"You were in a car accident. But you're gonna be fine."

"How long was I out?"

"Couple days."

"Couple days? And you've been here all this time?"

"Yes of course."

"Why?"

"Why? Because I care about you that's why. Just rest up, I'll be right back," Callen said and Lori nodded.

Callen left the room and in the hallway he leaned against the wall and what he feared probably had happened. Lori didn't remember being with him anymore. After he got himself together he went to look for her doctor.

"Doctor, Lori just woke up," Callen said and he doctor followed Callen back to her room.

"Hello Ms. Carter, how are you feeling?" The doctor said.

"Like I've just been run over by a truck," Lori said.

"Just rest up and all your injuries should be fine. Do you remember what happened?"

"I was told I was in a car accident but I can't remember."

"What's the last thing you can remember?"

Lori thought back to what she remembered last.

"I just started a new job about 3 months ago," Lori said and the doctor looked at Callen.

"That was almost 3 years ago," Callen said.

"3 years? No, that can't be, it was just 3 months ago," Lori said getting slightly worried.

"Okay, just relax Ms. Carter. You hit your head during the accident, you're suffering from memory loss. But don't worry we'll help you. Just rest up, I'll be back later to check on you."

The doctor walked out and Callen followed him.

"Doctor, will she get her memory back?" Callen asked.

"It's too soon to tell how much of her memory she'll get back or how long it will take. Just be patient with her and be there for her. Try to trigger her memory with events that happened during those 3 years," the doctor said and his pager went off. "Excuse me."

Callen just stood there in the hallway. Lori had no memory of being together with him or of their daughters. Callen sat down in the chair and buried his head in his hands and he felt tears running down his face. He felt so torn apart right now. Why did this have to happen?


	19. Chapter 19

After sitting outside for a few minutes he pulled himself together and called Lori's parents to let them know what was up and to not bring Myra and Julie by the hospital just yet. He hung up the phone and he took a deep breath and he walked back into Lori's room.

"Callen, what's going on? Why can't I remember the last 3 years?" Lori said.

"You had a car accident and you hit your head."

"But why can't I remember?" Lori said and she started to freak out a little.

"Lori honey," Callen said as he sat down on the bed next to her and grabbed her hand. "It's gonna be okay. We'll get through this."

"Did you just call me honey?" Lori said and she looked at Callen with a weird face.

"Did I?"

"Yeah you did. Why would you call me honey?" Lori said and Callen looked down and away from her. "Callen, what's going on? Is there something I forgot that happened, between you and me?" Callen looked at Lori and she saw something in his eyes. "It's more than that you just caring about me, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. I – We -," Callen stumbled not sure how to say this to her. "I love you, we're engaged."

"What? We're engaged? No, no, no that's not possible. Hetty would never allow that and still have us working together."

"She's okay with it. We proved to her that we can still work together and keep our private life out of the office."

"How long have we been seeing each other?"

"For about a year now."

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything about that. It doesn't even ring a bell somewhere. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Lori, it's not your fault. But you're gonna remember, I'll be there to help you. We'll get through this together, I promise."

"Okay, it's just weird, cus I don't know you like this. To me you are Agent Callen, our team leader."

"Well I still am him, just not when we're at home."

Lori tried to shift in the bed but her ribs wouldn't allow it.

"You okay Lori?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My damn ribs just hurt."

"Should I call the nurse for more pain medication?"

"No, I'm good thanks. I'm just gonna try to get some more sleep."

"That's fine. You just rest up. I'll be here if you need me."

Lori lay in the bed pretending to be asleep, but she was actually thinking about what Callen had just told her. They were engaged! How did that happen? She would never go out with a co-worker; she knew Hetty's rules, although she had to admit that Callen looked quite handsome. Those blue eyes of his were so gorgeous and she was sure that the rest of him was very gorgeous too. There was just something mysterious about him, she had noticed it the first time she saw him. But how did they end up being engaged? She tried to remember it but she just couldn't and that frustrated her. Was Callen really telling the truth about them being engaged? Why would he lie to her about that? And from the look in his eyes and the way he said it seemed to be very real.

A little later she fell asleep and woke up about an hour later when her parents walked into the room.

"Hey mom, hey dad," Lori said.

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" Susan asked.

"Like I just got run over by a truck, my whole body aches."

"Just take your rest, you'll be fine. Greg told us what happened. Don't worry honey, you will remember."

Lori couldn't remember Greg but she assumed that she was talking about Callen.

"It's just frustrating that I can't remember. The last thing I remembered was three years ago."

"It'll be okay Lori, just give it time. And I'm sure Greg's gonna help you with it. You do know about him and you?"

"He told me that we're engaged."

"Yes that's true. And I've seen you two together. You really love each other," Susan said and at that Lori looked over at Callen and he smiled at her. "Just give it time sweetie, I'm sure you'll remember everything."

"What did the doctor say?" Richard asked.

"He said that I hit my head in the accident and that caused memory loss and he said they were gonna help me remember with some therapy or something."

"Who's your doctor?"

Lori gave him her doctor's name and he walked out to the desk and asked to speak to the doctor.

"Have you been here all this time?" Lori asked.

"Yes, as soon as Greg called us we flew right over here."

They stayed there for a little longer until visiting hours were over.

"Callen," Lori called before Callen walked out of the room.

"Yeah Lori," Callen said as he turned around.

"Thank you for staying here with me. It's nice to know that someone was here looking after me."

"My pleasure. I'll be back tonight," Callen said and without thinking he walked up to her and gave her a kiss. Lori was surprised by his actions and she pushed him away. "I'm sorry. I'll see you later."

She watched Callen walk out of the room and lay there thinking what just happened. He kissed her! Well to him it may seem like the most normal thing since they were engaged, but to her it wasn't. Although she had to admit that it did feel kinda nice, but also weird cus she saw him as their lead agent and not as her fiancé.

"Okay, that sounded weird," Lori thought. "G. Callen, her fiancé."

She wondered about all the other stuff that she didn't remember. 3 years was a lot of stuff to forget.

A little later a doctor came by and he worked with her trying to recover he memory. He started at what she last remembered. Lori tried to remember everything she could remember. She was frustrated that she couldn't remember anything else.

"It's okay Lori, just try to remember," the doctor said.

"I'm trying. I just can't," Lori spat out.

"Okay, it's okay, just relax. It's gonna take some time before you'll remember. We'll just keep trying. Is there anyone you can talk to about the last three years?"

"Well it turns out I have a fiancé so I'm sure he can help me."

"That's good. Looking at pictures and things that have a significant meaning usually helps. If he could bring that over to the hospital that would be great."

"I'll ask him later tonight when he comes over."

"That's good. I'll see you tomorrow again."

Lori rested for the rest of the day until it was time for dinner. Just as she finished dinner Callen walked into the room.

"Hey Lori, how are you feeling?"

"A bit better, managed to eat something, swallowing hurts a bit but I managed to eat some."

"That's good."

"Listen, the doctor was helping me recover my memory today and he said it might be helpful to look at pictures or other significant things from the last 3 years to help me remember, so it would be helpful if you brought those over to the hospital tomorrow."

"Uhm sure I'll bring them over tomorrow morning."

"Okay thank you. How's everything at work?"

"It's fine. Hetty gave me a couple days off to be with you."

"Ah that's nice of her. This is difficult for you, isn't it?"

"I'm fine, you just focus on getting better."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Callen said as he sat down on the bed.

"Uhm this might be a little weird to ask….. How are we? I mean as a couple."

Callen chuckled as Lori asked that. "We're fine together. We both love each other very much. We're very happy together. I absolutely love living with you. It's nice to have someone to come home to at the end of the day. Especially since…." Callen started but he wasn't sure if he should tell her already about the babies.

"Especially since what?"

"Never mind."

"No, you were gonna say something. I wanna know what it is. Is it something that I forgot?"

"Never mind. It's fine, I'll tell you later."

"Come on Callen, just tell me. It can't be that bad."

"Oh no, it's definitely not bad."

"Then what is it? Tell me."

"Fine. Especially since we had our little girls."

"Little girls? As in daughters, as in twins, as in ours?"

"Yes."

"We have twin girls? And I didn't remember? How could I forget that? But wait you said we've only been together for a year."

"Yes that true. It kinda happened unexpected. We went out and we got a little bit drunk and I walked you home and then one thing led to another and now we have twin girls, who we both love very much."

"I'm sure that we do. I can't believe I didn't remember that I have two little girls. What kind of mother am I?"

"Oh honey," Callen said as he grabbed her hand. "You're a wonderful mother. It's not your fault you didn't remember."

"I am?"

"Yes you are," Callen said with a smile on his face.

"How old are they?"

"They're just 3 months old."

"3 months? Really? No wonder why my breasts feel weird. Do you have a picture of them?"

"Yeah sure," Callen said and he pulled out his phone. "This is Myra and this is Julie."

"Aw they are so cute. I can see they have your blue eyes."

"Yes that they do. They're great. I love them."

"Yeah I can imagine. Wait if you're here, where are they?"

"Don't worry Lori. Your mom and dad are looking after them."

"Okay good. Could you maybe get me something to drink?"

"Sure, what do you want?"

"Some juice would be nice."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Callen walked back into the room a little later and he saw Lori crying.

"Hey Lori, what's wrong?" Callen said as he sat down next to her.

"It's just this, everything. I feel so awful and frustrated that I can't remember the last 3 years and especially you and our daughters."

"Oh honey, it's okay," Callen said as he pulled her in for a hug. "It'll be alright. You will remember and for as long as you don't, I'll be here to remind you of it."

Lori couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You know, you're really sweet. I wish I could remember being with you."

"You will honey, you will."

Callen stayed there until it was time to go home.

"Thank you for coming by," Lori said.

"It's my pleasure. I miss having you at home and so do the girls."

"They do?"

"Yeah of course they do, they miss their mommy."

"Could you maybe bring them with you tomorrow?"

"Sure, I'll bring them with me and I'll bring some photos by too."

"Thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight honey," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head before going back home.

Lori lay there in the hospital bed thinking what just happened. She had twin girls, with Callen no less! She was a mother! There were two little girls out there whose mother didn't remember them! How could she not remember them? Argh she hated this. If she forgot about Callen and the girls what else could she have forgotten about? She hoped she would get her memory back soon, maybe when Callen brought over the girls and the pictures tomorrow that she would remember something again. She had to admit that the girls looked kinda cute.

…..

Callen came home later that day and he went to check on his girls. They were both peacefully asleep.

"How's Lori doing?" Susan asked.

"She seems better. The doctor started therapy with her to help her get her memory back," Callen said.

"Does she know about the girls?"

"Yes I told her. I kinda slipped up and she kept asking me so I told her."

"How did she take it?"

"Okay, I guess. She asked if I could bring the girls by tomorrow and the doctor also asked to bring by some pictures of the last three years to help her remember."

"Well that's good. She'll get better I'm sure of it. Give it some time and Lori will remember you and the girls. At least she knows that she has you and the girls."

"Yeah she does. I wonder how she'll react tomorrow when she sees them."

"She'll be fine Greg."

"Minds can be very tricky. It's hard to say how long it will take for her to regain her memory, some never do," Richard said and Susan gave him a look. "But I'm sure Lori will remember. Sometimes the smallest things can help trigger her mind and the memories will come back to her, sometimes it takes a little longer. But I'm sure it'll be good for Lori to see Myra and Julie tomorrow."

Around 2am the babies woke up and after feeding them both Callen took them back to his bedroom and he lay them down in his bed and he lay down next of them and put a pillow between them and the side of the bed.

"Tomorrow we're gonna see mommy. I know you miss her. I miss her too. I hope she'll be better soon so she can come home and be with us even if she doesn't remember it. I'm sure it'll be very good when she sees you two tomorrow. Maybe she'll remember something when she sees you two. Daddy loves you so much and I know mommy does too even if she can't remember," Callen said and he gave both girls a kiss and he stroked their little cheeks and he watched them till they feel asleep and he fell asleep a little later.

…

The next morning Lori was up early, she couldn't sleep anymore because she kept thinking about Callen bringing their daughters over, daughters who she didn't remember. She waited anxiously till the clock hit 10am, which was the start of visiting hour. Just a few minutes past 10 Callen walked into the room with the stroller.

"Hey good morning," Callen said.

"Good morning," Lori said. "I see you brought the girls."

"Yes, just like I said I would. Are you ready to meet them?"

"Yes I am."

Callen picked up one baby and placed her in Lori's arms. "This is Myra." Myra stirred a little as Callen picked her up but she calmed down once she smelled her mother again.

"Hi Myra, I'm your mommy. You're a cute little girl. You really do have daddy's beautiful eyes."

"Are you okay holding her? I mean with your wrist."

"Yeah I'm good. If I hold her like this I doesn't really hurt."

"Good. For one thing Myra really seems to like being held by her mommy again," Callen said and Lori looked down at the baby lying peacefully in her arms and looking up to her and it made Lori tear up. "Hey honey, you okay?"

"Yeah I'm okay. I just can't believe I forgot about them. She looks really cute."

"Yeah that she does. Don't worry honey, everything is gonna be fine," Callen said and he put an arm around her and gave her a kiss on her head.

They sat there for a little while before Myra started crying. Lori got a little bit worried.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do anything wrong," Lori said.

"Oh no honey, you're doing fine. She's just hungry."

"Oh okay. Are you sure?"

"Yes, this is her hungry cry," Callen said and he wanted to grab Myra from Lori.

"May I?"

"Sure, if you want and if you're ready for it."

"Yeah maybe it'll be good for me and otherwise at least for my breasts, they are starting to hurt."

"Well then you go ahead."

Lori looked at Callen before she started breastfeeding Myra.

"Uhm…. This may be an awkward question but could you maybe look the other way while I breastfeed her. I know you've probably seen me naked a few times but I'm just not quite comfortable with it."

"Uh yeah sure, if you'd feel more comfortable then. I'll just be over here if you need me," Callen said and he grabbed the chair and turned it towards the stroller where Julie was peacefully looking up at her mobile.

Once Callen turned around Lori carefully lifted her shift up and she brought Myra closer to her breast. Myra started feeling around and once she had found Lori's breast she immediately started drinking.

"There's a good girl," Lori said.

Lori looked down at the little baby attached to her breast. She had to admit that the baby did look a little like her when she was younger, except for the blue eyes of course. Those were definitely from her daddy and what a cute daddy he was. She could really see herself with them, she just didn't remember and that frustrated her. She really hoped her memory would come back to her soon so she remembered living with this wonderful man and these cute little girls. Her eyes got a little watery as she looked down at the little girl in her arms.

"You're doing okay over there?"

"Yes I'm doing fine. Myra is drinking very well."

"Good to hear. When she's done put her over your shoulder and rub her back to make her burp."

"Got it." Once Myra was done Lori held her over her shoulder. "Do you maybe have a cloth or something?"

"Yeah, of course," Callen said and without looking at Lori he went over to the bag and handed her the cloth.

"You can look again, I'm all covered up."

"Oh okay," Callen said and he turned around and he handed Lori the cloth.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. She drank well?"

"Yes very well. She's a hungry little girl."

"Yes that she is," Callen said and he looked at Lori holding Myra and he smiled.

"What?"

"I just love seeing you with our daughters."

"That's sweet of you."

After Myra burped Julie started crying. She was hungry too.

"Would you like to feed Julie too?"

"If I may."

"Of course, you're their mommy."

Callen grabbed Myra and placed her back in her stroller and he handed Julie to Lori.

"Hi Julie. You're hungry too huh?" Lori said and she looked at Callen.

"I got it, turning around again."

"Thank you Callen. And sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Lori."

A little later Julie was fed too and Callen sat next to her on the bed while holding Myra.

"You did very well Lori. Both girls seem to like having mommy around again."

"Yeah, I guess it must have been hard for them without their mommy, well me, around."

"Yeah they did miss you. But they had me and your parents."

"I'm sure that the girls love their daddy, you really seem like a sweet daddy to me."

"Thank you, I like to think so."

"You're welcome and thank you for bringing them over. I may not remember them but it's good to see them. Makes me wanna work harder to recover my memory, if that's even possible."

"I think it is. The more effort you put in it, the more it'll pay off I think."

"I hope so. It's just so frustrating not remembering and I wanna remember again for you and for our girls."

"Ah that's sweet honey and until you do I'll be right here with you to remind you of it."

"That's nice of you. You know I don't remember being in love with you but I can really see myself being in love with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, you really seem like a sweet man and you're also really cute and those blue eyes of yours are really pretty."

"Well thank you."

Callen stayed there for a little longer with the girls and the therapist asked him to stay as he worked with Lori. Callen had also brought some photo albums with him. Lori vaguely remembered some of the photos but none of the photos with her and Callen or with the girls.

A week later Lori was discharged from the hospital. She still had to stay home for about 6 to 8 weeks to let her injuries heal. Lori's parents went home again a few days before. Callen picked her up from the hospital and brought her home.

"This is where we live?"

"Yes it is. Does it look familiar to you?"

"No sorry."

"It's okay. Come on let's go inside. You good?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

Callen grabbed the girls and Lori hobbled inside with her crutches.

"Watch the step," Callen said.

"I got it."

Once Lori was inside she sat down on the couch and Callen pulled the table closer so she could put her foot up.

"Thank you," Lori said.

"You good there?"

"Yeah I'm good here."

"Okay good," Callen said and he got the kids out of their car seats and he lay them down in their playpens. "You need anything?"

"Could you get me some cereal please?"

"Of course," Callen said and he went into the kitchen to get some. "Here you go."

"Thank you. Don't you have to go to work?"

"No, Hetty gave me the day off so I could pick you up and stay at home with you."

"Ah okay."

Lori looked around the house trying to see if she recognized anything, but nothing looked really familiar to her. It felt a bit weird being here with Callen and the girls. Even though Callen seemed really sweet to her she still found it awkward and a bit scary to be here. Callen had told her that they were engaged but she had no memory of that and she had no idea what it was like living with him and also with two little girls around. She appreciated Callen looking after her but sometimes she didn't know how to act around him since she didn't know him like this.

"Would it be okay if I go and freshen up a little?" Lori said.

"Sure, bathroom is just down the hall. You need a hand?"

"No I got it thanks," Lori said and she got up and went to the bathroom.

She figured out how to wash herself. She could hardly go in the shower and the bathtub wasn't an option either. She just got a washcloth and sat down on the edge of the tub and she washed herself. It was kinda hard because of her bruised ribs. But she didn't want to ask Callen for help because it felt weird to her being naked in front of him.

"Lori," Callen said as he knocked on the door. "I've got you some fresh clothes."

"Thank you," Lori said and she hobbled over towards the door, using a towel to cover herself and she opened the door and grabbed the clothes.

"You okay in here?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just not that easy washing myself then I thought and I actually wanted to wash my hair but I can't really go in the shower."

"You want me to help you?"

"Uhm…."

"Only if you want me to and if you feel more comfortable you can keep your underwear on."

"Uhm okay. Just give me a minute," Lori said and she closed the door the put her underwear back on.

Callen washed her with a cloth and then did her hair. She sat on the edge of the tub and bend a little bit backwards so her head was above the tub. Callen helped her dry off and to put her clothes back on.

"Thank you," Lori said.

"You're welcome."

Callen made them some dinner and by 10.30pm Lori wanted to go to bed. Callen showed her where the bedroom was and he helped her get in the bed and he put a pillow under her foot.

"Comfortable?"

"Well I wouldn't want to call it comfortable but I'm okay. Thank you."

"No problem," Callen said and without thinking he stripped out of his own clothes in front of Lori.

"Oh my god," Lori thought to herself. "The man does look good." But she also saw the scars on his torso.

"Where did you get the scars?" Lori asked.

"Occupational hazard. An old colleague of mine crossed over and he wanted to kill everyone in the team. I was the only one who survived, probably since Sam was there."

"You got all of them at once?"

"Yes I did."

"Damn. You were lucky to survive that. Did that happen before or after we, you know, got together?"

"Before, but I never told you until after."

"Ah okay. That must have hurt."

"Yeah it did. I was out for 4 months."

"Damn, you must have had a guardian angel or something."

"Yeah probably," Callen said and he wanted to get into the bed.

"Uhm, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting in the bed."

"Yes, I can see that. Why? You said I could sleep here."

"Yes I said that, but since it's our bed I sleep here too."

"Uhm... Callen I know you probably normally do but I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that. I'm sorry. Would you mind sleeping somewhere else till I'm comfortable with it? I'm really sorry. You really seem like a sweet guy but I'm not ready for this."

Callen scratched the back of his head. "Uhm sure. I understand. It's okay. I'll just be in the guest room if you need me." Callen grabbed the baby monitor and moved to the guest room.

"Thank you Callen."

"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Callen lay down on the bed in the guest room and just looked at the ceiling. He really rather wanted to lie next to Lori but he understood her reasons for asking him to sleep somewhere else. He just hoped that Lori's memory would come back soon so he could just hold her in his arms again and kiss her again. A little later Callen fell asleep.

Around 2am Lori shook up in her bed while screaming, causing her ribs to hurt from the sudden action.


	20. Chapter 20

Callen heard the scream echoing through the house. He grabbed the baby monitor and jumped out of bed and ran towards their bedroom. As he walked in he saw a terrified Lori sitting in the bed. She was covered with sweat and her eyes were full of fear. Callen put the baby monitor on the dresser and walked up to her and set in front of her on the bed.

"Lori, honey, what's wrong?" Callen said and Lori looked at him, but to Callen it felt she looked more like through him. She wasn't back to reality completely. "Lori, are you okay?" Callen cupped her face with his hand. Lori felt his hand on her face and she flinched, causing Callen to pull his hand back. "Lori, it's okay. It's just me, Callen. And it was just a dream. Everything's okay."

"Callen?" Lori asked still slightly shocked about her dream.

"Yeah it's me. It's okay. You're safe. It was just a dream," Callen said and he cupped her face again. Lori didn't move away this time. She seemed to have relaxed a little bit.

"It was so scary. It was like I was reliving it again," Lori said, her voice still trembling.

"It's okay. What happened?"

"We were working on a case and I got captured and he took me to a dark room where he…." Lori started crying.

"Hey hey, it's okay," Callen said as he pulled her in for a hug, he thought he knew what case Lori was describing. "I'm here, it's okay. You're safe."

"He beat me and he shot me in my arm and…." Lori sobbed against his chest. "He was about to shoot me again when there was a loud bang."

"It's okay honey, you're safe. It was just a dream. You're safe. I'm not letting anyone hurt you anymore." Callen tried to calm Lori down.

"But it felt so real."

"Well it was real once. It was about 2½ years ago. But we came to rescue you and we shot the guy who harmed you when he aimed at us. You're safe sweetie, he's not gonna hurt you anymore."

Callen noticed that Lori had relaxed a bit in his arms.

"Could you maybe stay here with me?" Lori asked.

"Of course," Callen said and he walked around to the other side of the bed and lay down.

Lori tried to roll over on her side but her ribs and her foot wouldn't allow it.

"Lori, it's okay. Just stay on your back. I'm right here next to you," Callen said as he wiped away her tears.

"Could you maybe hold me? I'm scared and I don't wanna feel alone."

"You're never alone sweetie. I'm right here next to you," Callen said as he moved closer to Lori and put his arms over her body and he lay his head down next to hers. "This okay?"

"Yes this is fine. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just try to get some sleep okay. If you need me I'll be right here. Don't be afraid to wake me up if you have to, I don't mind."

Lori nodded and she drifted off to sleep again. Callen lay there next to her, he felt bad for her that she had a nightmare like that. That case was really scary and he was glad that they got there just in time. He watched her sleep and he was glad that he could hold her in his arms again and that he could sleep next to her again. He gave her a soft kiss on her head and he drifted off to sleep shortly.

He was glad when he woke up the next morning to see Lori still sleeping. He was glad she didn't have any more nightmares last night. It was just past 7.30am when Callen quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake Lori up. She stirred a bit as Callen removed his hand from her but she continued to sleep. Callen quietly dressed himself and he walked over to the babies' room. The girls were just starting to wake up when Callen walked into the room.

"Hey there my beautiful girls," Callen said as he saw their blue eyes staring back at him. He first picked up Julie and he changed and dressed her and he put her in her bouncy chair in the living room and then he went back to the room and did the same with Myra. Since Lori was still asleep he went to the kitchen and he warmed up a bottle. He walked back into the living room with the warm bottle and he sat it down on the table and he went to pick up Myra. He grabbed the bottle and a cloth and sat down on the couch. He tested the milk on his hand and after he made sure it wasn't too hot he put the pacifier in Myra's little mouth. Myra opened her mouth right away when she felt the pacifier and she began sucking immediately.

"There's a good girl. You really are a hungry little girl," Callen said. About 5 minutes later Myra had finished the bottle. Callen put the bottle down and held her over his shoulder, while rubbing her back and a little later she burped. "There's a good little girl. You really are a sweetie. Daddy loves you very much." Callen gave her a kiss and he stood up with her in his arms and walked over to the kitchen.

He got another bottle out and warmed it up. While he was waiting for the bottle he looked down at his little girl in his arms and she smiled back up to her daddy.

"Daddy loves it when you smile like that. It reminds me of mommy," Callen said and he bend down to place a kiss on her cheek.

Once the bottle was warm he took it to the living room and he set it down on the table and placed Myra in her playpen before picking up Julie and feeding her too. Once both girls were fed and lying peacefully in their playpens, Callen made himself some breakfast. When he was eating his breakfast he thought he heard some sounds coming from the bedroom. It sounded like something fell on the floor. He put his breakfast down and walked to the bedroom, where he found Lori on the floor, trying to get up again.

"Lori, what happened? Are you okay?" Callen asked as he helped her up.

"I'm fine. Auw, It's not that handy to put clothes on, auw, with a broken foot and bruised ribs."

"Why didn't you to call for me to help you?"

"I didn't wanna bother you and I thought I could do it by myself."

"I'd be happy to help you, you're never bothering me. Come on let me help you."

Callen got her clothes and helped her get dressed. He wanted to help her to the couch but she wanted to it herself. She got her crutches and walked towards the couch and she sat down. Callen helped her put her feet up and he went to the kitchen and made her some breakfast.

"Here you go," Callen said as he handed her a bowl of cereal.

"Thank you Callen. You're really sweet to me."

"You're welcome. I don't mind taking care of you. You have to go to the doctor again today for some more therapy right?"

"Yeah, I believe at 2pm. It should be written down somewhere."

"I'll check," Callen said and he walked over to the calendar and it said 2pm. "Yes 2pm. I'll take you."

"You sure you really don't have to go to work?"

"No, Hetty gave me some time off and they would call me if they really needed me. Right now, this is where I need to be, with you," Callen said as he sat next to her and grabbed her hand.

"Thank you," Lori said and she looked down. "Callen, do you think I'll ever get my memory back?" She said in a sad voice.

"Hey," Callen said and he lifted her face. "Of course you will. You have to believe in that. You will remember and I'm gonna be here to help you."

"Thank you. It means a lot to me to know that you care about me."

"Of course I care about you. You're my fiancé and the mother of my daughters. I love you."

"I can see that you do, it's just weird for me to see you like this. I'm sure I have these sorts of feelings for you too, but I can't remember it right now."

"What? You're sure you have these feelings too?" Callen said with a smile.

"Yeah I think I do, why else would I've agreed to marry you and we wouldn't be living together with two girls if I didn't. And being around you these past few days have made me look differently at you then just my team leader."

"Really? Well I'm glad, I hope you're memory comes back so you know exactly how you feel."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Lori was totally memorized by his blue eyes. She saw this look in his eyes and she couldn't quite place it. She felt his hand on her cheek and at first she wanted to pull away, but his hand felt warm and nice on her cheek. She leaned into his touch and Callen moved his head a little closer. Their lips were almost touching when they were interrupted by Myra's crying. Lori shook out of her thoughts and Callen got up to pick Myra up.

"Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" Callen shushed, trying to calm her down. He felt her diaper and realized it was wet. "Come on sweetie, let's get you a clean diaper."

Lori watched him walk away with Myra and she thought about what just happened. She and Callen were about to kiss. Sure to Callen it seemed like the most normal thing in the world, but to her it didn't. She thought she would feel afraid when he did that but she wasn't. She was more excited to feel his lips on hers and she couldn't understand why. Was her memory coming back to her? Maybe she should just kiss Callen and see if it triggers something.

A little later Callen came back with Myra and sat down on the couch with her.

"Hey sweetie," Lori said and she tickled her tummy which made her laugh.

"Yeah that's mommy," Callen said.

"They are really cute."

"Oh yes they are. From the moment I first saw them I was in love with them."

"Yeah I can imagine. I can't even remember having them and I still love having them around."

"You do?"

"Yeah I do. They are just so cute."

They hung out at home until it was time to go to the doctor. Callen grabbed the girls and put them in the car and Lori walked to the car with her crutches and Callen drove to the hospital.

Lori waited for the doctor to come get her. Once she was in the doctor asked if she wanted Callen there with her. Lori agreed that it would be better if he was there. Callen listened to her and tried to help her wherever necessary. Lori told the doctor about the nightmare she had and the doctor said that probably was her unconscious bringing her memory back to her. During the session Lori remembered some small bits and pieces from about 3 years ago, nothing recent just yet. But the doctor was happy with the small progress she already made.

"You did really well today," Callen said in a sincere tone as they were in the car on the way home.

"I feel a bit better now. I don't remember everything, but it's slowly, very slowly, coming back to me."

"Good to hear. I'm sure if you keep this up it'll be back very fast."

"I hope so, this is so frustrating."

…

They had a quiet rest of the day. Callen helped Lori to bed around 10pm. Callen wanted to walk out of the room put Lori stopped him.

"Callen," Lori said and Callen turned around. "Uhm, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Uhm….." Lori started and Callen could tell she was a little uncomfortable. "Would you…. uhm… Could you maybe…. Can you sleep here tonight?"

Callen was taken a little bit aback with this question but agreed.

"Of course, if you want me to."

"After you crawled in, you know after my nightmare, I felt safe and I didn't have another nightmare. So I was hoping that having you here next to me keeps me from having nightmares and otherwise you're at least close."

"Well that's good to know. Of course I'll stay with you. I'll just go check on the girls and then I'll join ya."

Callen checked on the girls and they were both peacefully asleep, he walked back to the bedroom and took his clothes off and joined Lori in the bed.

"Thank you for this, just one thing. No touching unless I have another nightmare."

"Uhm… sure, I'll just be here next to you if you need me. Goodnight Lori."

"Goodnight Callen."

The next morning Callen woke up and he felt something on this chest. He looked down and saw that Lori was lying on his chest and his arms were around her. Callen smiled as he took in the picture. He loved having her lay like this again. He was afraid to move, afraid to wake her up. So he just stayed in bed. A little later Lori started to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes and she felt that something was under her hand. She opened her eyes completely and saw Callen's naked chest. She was lying on top of him! How the hell did that happen?! She wanted to move back but she stopped as she heard Callen's voice.

"Good morning Lori," Callen said in a deep voice.

"Good morning Callen. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For sleeping like that."

"It's okay sweetie. Don't worry about it."

"I probably must have rolled over in my sleep," Lori said as she moved back to her side of the bed.

"I told you it's fine, no worries."

…..

That Monday Callen had to go back to work.

"Are you sure you're gonna be fine here today with the girls?" Callen asked.

"Yes, I'm started to get used to having my foot in a cast and to having them around. I'm sure I can manage."

"Alright. If you need me, I'm just a phone call away and I've asked Michelle to drop by a couple times today."

"Michelle?"

"Yeah Sam's wife."

"Ah okay, yeah I know something about him being married I just didn't know her name."

"She's very nice. She should stop by around lunchtime."

"Alright that's fine."

Callen walked over to the playpens, where the girls were.

"Bye bye my little sweeties, be good to mommy today," Callen said and he gave them both a kiss. "Bye Lori, see ya later." Callen walked out the door and went to work.

…..

"How's Ms. Carter doing?" Hetty asked as Callen walked into her office.

"She's doing better, making slow steps forward," Callen said and he told her about the nightmare she had.

"Well that's perfectly understandably. How is she with you and the twins around?"

"She's okay with it. At first it was weird for her but she's a little more used to them. She holds them and feeds them. She does find it difficult sometimes how to act around me. She knows about her and me but she feels weird about it cus she doesn't know me like that."

"Give her some time Mr. Callen. She'll remember you and twins eventually."

"I hope so, finally everything was going good in our life and now this," Callen said and Hetty could see the tears in his eyes and her heart broke for him.

"She's alive and here with you. Just give her time and space to feel comfortable around you until she gets her memory back.

"I hope it's soon. I miss her," Callen said and he walked out to the gym for a workout.

…

Lori was sitting at home and she watched the girls lying in their playpens, looking up at their mobiles. She still couldn't believe that they were actually hers and Callen's, but they were very cute. They definitely had Callen's eyes. A little later Myra started crying. Lori hobbled over to the playpen with one crutch and she picked Myra up and sat down on the couch with her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lori said as she rocked her, trying to calm her down. After a little while Myra was still crying and Lori didn't know what to do. "What's the matter sweetie? You need a new diaper." Lori felt and smelled her diaper but it was still clean. "What is it? Are you hungry?"

Lori lifted her shirt up and exposed her breast and she brought Myra closer. Myra immediately started sucking.

"Ah so you were hungry. There's a good girl."

While Lori was feeding Myra there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lori said.

"It's Michelle, Sam's wife," Michelle said.

"Come on in, it's open."

Michelle stepped into the house and saw Lori breastfeeding Myra.

"Oh, I can come back later if you want," Michelle said.

"No, it's okay. I'm done anyway," Lori said and she lifted Myra over her shoulder to burp her.

"I brought you some groceries."

"Thank you. Just put them on the counter, I'll put them away later."

"I can do it, it's no problem."

Michelle went into the kitchen at put the groceries away and returned to the living room.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay. It's going slowly, very slowly."

"Give it time. I know it's hard but you're gonna remember. You just gotta believe that."

"Oh I do believe it. I want nothing more to remember. I want to know what my life is like right now with Callen and the girls."

"You two are very happy together. I can see that you love each other very much."

"Yeah, I got that idea from Callen too. He's very sweet and caring towards me. I just don't know how to act around him. He's my fiancé but I can't remember any of that."

"Just act how you want, I'm sure Callen will accept it. You should have seen him when you were unconscious in the hospital, he wouldn't leave your side. He stayed their day and night waiting for you to wake up."

"Really? He was their 24/7?"

"Yes he was, he only left when someone made him and promised him they would stay with you."

"I knew he had been there but not that he had been there 24/7."

Michelle and Lori sat there talking for a little while before Michelle went back home. Lori looked at Myra in her arms, she was sleeping. She carefully got up and placed her back in her playpen and picked up Julie, who had started crying too.

"Hey sweetie, you're probably hungry too right?"

Lori breastfed her too and held her in her arms looking at her beautiful blue eyes. A little later the phone rang. Lori scooted over on the couch and picked the phone up.

"Hello this is Lori Carter."

"Hello Ms. Carter, this is Rob Mayer from Mayer flowers calling about your order." Lori thought to herself what he was talking about and she figured out it was probably for her wedding. Lori was unsure what to say to him since she didn't know anything about this. "Excuse me, are you still their miss?"

"Uh yeah I'm still here. I'm sorry but I don't remember you or the order, you see I was in a car accident recently and I'm suffering from memory loss."

"Oh miss I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon. I had just some follow up questions but I guess it's probably not a good time to ask you."

"No, maybe not."

"Is it possible I could ask your friend these questions?"

"My friend?"

"Yeah, you came in here with a friend. Woman, dark hair, brown eyes. I believe you called her Kens or something."

"Oh yes I know who you were talking about. I'll see if I can find her number. Can I call you back?"

"Sure, that's fine and take care Ms. Carter."

"Thank you," Lori said and she hung up the phone and searched the phone for Kensi's number and dialed it. Kensi answered after a few rings.

"Hey Lori, everything okay?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah I'm okay. The florist just called about my order of flowers and he wanted to ask some questions. Since I can't remember ordering them I was wondering if you could talk to him, he said that you were there with me when we ordered them."

"Uhm yeah sure, I can do that. I'll give him a call later today. Mayer flowers it was right?"

"Uh yes I believe that's what he said. Thank you Kens."

"You're welcome."

They hung up the phone and Lori called the florist back to let him know her friend would call him later that day.

…

It had been a week since Lori was released from the hospital and her memory had come back a little, just bits and pieces so far of moments that happened about 2 to 3 years ago. She was feeling a little bit more comfortable around Callen. They even slept together every night in the same bed and sometimes they woke up in the morning with their arms around each other.

That morning was no different. Lori opened her eyes and saw her lying up close to Callen. She was on her side and Callen was lying on his side as well and his arm was around her back and hers was resting on his chest. Lori tried to pull away but Callen pulled her back in his sleep. Lori lay back down and fell back asleep again. She woke up about an hour later again and saw that Callen was awake too.

"Good morning," Callen said.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"I slept fine. You?"

"Fine too."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, instinctively Callen moved his head towards her and he was surprised when Lori didn't back away from him and his lips found hers. Lori was shocked by his actions but she couldn't push him away, this kiss felt too good. When Callen noticed Lori didn't stop him or pull away he deepened the kiss. It felt so good kissing her again. Lori let the passion wash over her for a minute but then she snapped back to reality and pushed him away and got up from the bed and grabbed her crutches and walked out of the room, leaving a shocked and stunned Callen behind in the bed. She went to the bathroom and she locked the door and sat down on the edge of the tub. What had just happened?! They had kissed each other! And not just a friendly kiss. A real passion filled kiss! Lori said there on the bathtub thinking about what just happened.

Callen still lay shocked in his bed. He didn't mean to kiss her, it just happened and she didn't pull away. In fact Callen felt her kissing back. Then why did she stop him and walked away? Much time to think about it he didn't have, the girls were crying. Callen changed their diapers and got them dressed and fed them. Lori still hadn't come out of the bedroom. Callen had to go to work. He put the girls in their playpens and he got himself dressed and he walked over to the bathroom and he knocked on the door.

"Lori, you okay in their?" There was no answer. "Lori, look I have to go to work. We'll talk later. They girls are in their playpens and they have been fed and changed. I'll see you later."

"Okay bye."

Callen grabbed his bag and kissed the girls goodbye and went to work. Once Lori heard the door close she walked out of the bathroom and got herself dressed and got some breakfast. What the hell was happening right now? The kiss didn't feel all that wrong.

For most of the day Lori thought about what happened this morning between her and Callen and so did Callen.

When Callen came home just after 6pm Lori was making dinner in the kitchen.

"Mmmm, it smells good in here," Callen said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Callen."

"What are you making?"

"Pasta Bolognese."

"Mmm that's my favorite. Did you know that?"

Lori gave him a smile and took a step closer to him and pulled him close and gave him a passionate kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

Callen was shocked by the sudden kiss, but damn it felt so good. He moved his arms around her waist and kissed her back. It took him a few moments to break out of his trance. Lori was kissing him! He gently pushed her away and he looked in her eyes. He thought he saw some of the old Lori in her eyes.

"Lori honey, did your memory come back?"

Lori gave him a smile and kissed him again. "What does that tell you?"

"That tells me yes."

"You're right. I remember again, I think most of it, at least the part about you and the girls."

"Really?" Callen said with a smile on his face.

"Really yeah."

Callen picked her up and spun her around. He was so happy that she finally had her memory back.

"G, honey, can you put me down? My ribs hurt."

"Of course honey, sorry," Callen said and he put her down and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'm really sorry I forgot about you and the girls."

"Hey honey, it's not your fault, you were in a car accident."

"I know, I just can't believe I forgot such an important part of my life."

"It's okay baby," Callen said as he pulled her in for a hug. "Everything's okay. You're still here and I don't blame you for anything. None of this was your fault."

"I'm just glad I remember again, remember how much I love you and the twins."

Lori looked up into his blue eyes. She brought her lips closer to his and kissed him again.

"I've missed you doing that," Callen said with a smile.

"You mean this?" Lori asked and kissed him again.

"Yeah that. I've missed you. I know that sounds weird since you were here with me, but I wasn't just the same."

"I think I know what you mean." Lori wanted to kiss him again but they were interrupted by the pasta bubbling over. "Guess dinner's ready."

"Yeah guess so," Callen said and he gave her one quick kiss before setting the table.

Everything was back to the way it was, except for Lori's injuries but they would heal overtime. Callen was really happy that she had her memory back. They sat down together on the couch. Lori snuggled into Callen and Callen put his arms around her. He was so glad to hold her in his arms again like this and to kiss her again. He thought about the kiss they had shared this morning in bed.

"Hey honey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure G, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if something triggered your memory, like that kiss this morning."

"I guess in some way it did. I was shocked when you kissed me like that but after you left I started thinking about it and it didn't feel all that weird. The more I thought about it, the more I had these feelings coming up. And a little later it hit me and the memories came flowing back."

"Well, if I had known it just took a passionate kiss to bring your memory back I would've kissed you sooner," Callen joked.

They enjoyed each other's company for a while before Lori got up to go to bed but Callen stopped her.

"Allow me," Callen said and he scooped her up in his arms.

"Of course. I don't mind being carried this way."Callen walked to their bedroom and gently lay her down on the bed. He gave her a kiss and he wanted to pull away but Lori's arms were still around his neck. "Not so fast." Lori pulled him back down and kissed him again.

A little later they were interrupted by the girls crying.

"I'll get them," Callen said and he went to the babies' room. "Hey there sweeties." Callen picked them both up and walked towards their bedroom. "Wanna go see mommy?... Look who's here mommy."

"Hey, my sweet little girls," Lori said and Callen handed Julie to her.

Callen walked around the bed to the other side and lay down next to her with Myra. Lori leaned against him, with her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice, lying here together," Lori said.

"Yeah it is," Callen said and he gave her a kiss on her head.

"They are so cute. Look at them."

"Yeah they are, we make pretty cute babies together."

"Yeah that we do."

They fed the girls and lay there in bed together until the girls had fallen asleep again. Callen went to put the girls back into their cribs.

"Could you bring my crutches with you when you come back?" Lori asked.

"Sure honey."

While Callen brought the girls back Lori changed into her PJ's. A little later Callen came back into the room and put Lori's crutches in the corner near her side of the bed. He took his clothes off and crawled in the bed next to her.

"Thank you sweetie."

"You're welcome baby," Callen said and he moved closer to her. "I'm so glad you have your memory back. I was started to worry that it may never come back."

"Oh honey, I get that this must have been hard for so. Seeing me like this, not remembering you or the girls," Lori said as she rolled over and into his arms.

"It was hard sometimes yeah, but I was just glad you were still here. It could've been far worse after that accident."

"Michelle told me you were with me 24/7 when I was unconscious in the hospital."

"Of course, you're my fiancé. I couldn't stand leaving you and not being there when you'd wake up."

"Thank you for staying with me," Lori said and she gave him kiss before snuggling into his chest.

"Anytime time honey."

Callen was happy to hold her in his arms like this again. He had his Lori back again. The girls had their mommy back. All was right again. Callen watched as Lori fell asleep in his arms. He brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a kiss on her temple. A little later he fell asleep too.

The next morning Callen walked into the bullpen, only Sam was there.

"Morning Sam," Callen said in a very happy tone.

"Morning G, sounds like someone's happy."

"Yep, Lori got her memory back."

"That's great G. I'm glad."

"Yeah me too. It's nice having her back."

"Yeah I bet. How are her injuries?"

"Her wrist doesn't hurt that much. She's used to the cast around her foot. It's just her ribs that hurt if she makes a too sudden movement."

"Yeah bruised ribs are not nice."

"Yeah I know, I've had them once too."

"So everything's good between you two again?"

"Yep, we're all good. Everything's fine again."

Sam was happy Lori got her memory back, Callen had been a little mopey lately. They had a pretty quiet day at the office. They got a new case but it was solved pretty quickly. It was just past 5.30pm when Callen walked back into the house. He found Lori on the ground playing with Julie and Myra.

"Hey honey," Callen said as he closed the door.

"Hey baby. How was your day?"

"It was good," Callen answered and he gave her a kiss. He joined them on the floor. "Hey my little sweeties." He tickled both girls over their tummy and the girls started giggling.

"Yeah, that's daddy. They missed daddy today."

"I've missed them too," Callen said and he gave both girls a kiss. "And I've missed mommy too." Callen gave Lori a kiss too.

"I've missed you too."

The girls lay in between them and were playing with their toys. Callen lay there for a little while before he went to make dinner. He occasionally looked around the corner of the kitchen to see his three girls lying on the floor together, playing. That put a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to be married to this beautiful, sweet woman who was the mother of his daughters. They had a nice dinner and fed the girls. They put them in the tub before dressing them and putting them in their cribs. Callen and Lori looked over them in their cribs. They stared back at them with their beautiful baby blue eyes. They looked very peacefully. They were sucking on their pacifiers and watching their mobiles spin round. A little later they fell asleep and Callen and Lori quietly left the room.

They lay down together on the couch and just watched a movie.

…

Lori had her last appointment today with the therapist now that she regained her memory. Callen took the girls and went with her. The doctor was very pleased with her results. After visiting the therapist Lori and Callen went to see her doctor so he could look at her injuries.

"So, my colleague told me you have your memory back?" the doctor said.

"Yep, I remember again," Lori answered and she smiled at Callen.

"That's good. So how are you feeling, psychically?"

"Not bad, could be better though."

"How's your wrist?"

"It's good. It doesn't hurt that much anymore."

"Alright, let's see if we can take that bandage off," the doctor said and asked Lori to do some exercises. "Very well. We can take this off. The one on your ribs and your cast have to stay on for another few weeks."

"Okay. Doctor, is it possible for me to go back to work already? Only mild desk work of course."

"I think that would be a little too soon. We'll review that again on your next appointment in two weeks."

"Alright, thank you doctor."

They made a new appointment and went home.

"You really wanna come back to work already?" Callen asked once they were home.

"Yeah, just maybe 1 day a week or so to start with. Don't get me wrong I love spending time with the girls at home, but I'm not good at sitting at home doing nothing. At least there I could be useful."

"I understand honey, but you have to let your body heal first."

"Look who's talking, Mr. too-stubborn-to-let-my-body-heal," Lori joked and Callen smiled.

"Haha yeah I know. I can never wait to get back to work. And I know you tell me to take it easy."

"Yes, and I know you hardly ever listen to me then."

"I do," Callen said as he put his hands around her waist.

"Maybe," Lori said as she put her arms around his neck.

"Well maybe not always when I'm stuck at home but otherwise I do."

"Yeah, I guess you do," Lori said and she kissed him.

"I would love to stay here with you but I have to go to work. I'll see you later okay."

Callen gave her a kiss. He said goodbye to the girls and went to work. He hadn't missed much that morning.

…..

A week later they had a doctor's appointment for the girls. It was at 8am so Callen went with them before work. They girls were examined and got some new shots. The girls were doing okay. Callen and Lori held the girls as they were getting their shots. As soon as they got their shots they started crying. Callen and Lori did their best to try and calm them down. 5 minutes later they finally started to calm down.

They took the stroller out of the car and decided to take a stroll through the park for a little while. Lori was getting used to walking with crutches. Callen pushed the stroller towards a bench were they sat down. The bench was in the shade so the girls weren't in the sun. Callen moved the stroller slowly back and forth until the girls had fallen asleep. Lori and Callen sat there talking for a little while before going back home.

Callen placed the still sleeping girls in their playpens and he grabbed his bag.

"I'll see you later honey," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"See ya. Have a good day. Be careful."

"Always. I love you."

"I love you too," Lori said and she gave Callen another kiss. "Bye honey."

"Bye sweetie."

…

Now that Lori had her memory back, they went back to planning their wedding.

"Oh yeah, the wedding invitations have already arrived. They were delivered when you were in the hospital," Callen said and he went to the kitchen and came back with a box of wedding invitations. "I didn't look at them yet, I wanted to wait for you."

"That's sweet of you. Well I'm here now so we can open them."

Callen opened the box and took an invitation out. It was a light yellow card with silver wedding rings on the bottom left of the front. On the front was also a picture of Callen and Lori that faded in with the background. At the bottom was written: 'G. Callen & Lorainne Carter'. They opened the card and on the left page was a picture of Myra and Julie, also faded in with the background. On the right page was written a text:

_We are happy to announce that _

_our mommy and daddy are getting married. _

_We would all like you to be there on this special day _

_Which will take place on:_

_Saturday May 10 _

_We hope you can join us for this special occasion_

_The wedding will start at 2pm at:_

_796 Via Del Monte  
Palos Verdes Estates, California_

_Afterwards there will be a _

_Dinner and reception_

_Please let us know before April 20 if you can make it or not_

_We hope to see you there_

_Myra and Julie _

"That really is a beautiful card. I love it," Lori said.

"Yeah me too. It's very beautiful."

Lori wrote the addresses down on the envelope. Callen put the card and the directions in the envelope. He also added the hotel reservation and flight tickets, if necessary. They had to do 11 envelopes, for Sam, Hetty, Kensi, Deeks, Eric, Nell, Lori´s parents, Lori´s 2 brothers, Lori´s sister and one for the DC office. Once they were done they placed them near the door so they could post them the next morning.

"Let's see, when do we have another appointment for our wedding?" Lori said as she grabbed the agenda. "We have a meetings with the photographers tomorrow and meetings for the music the day after tomorrow."

"That's good."

"We have to make a seat plan for the wedding and the dinner."

Lori printed the layout of the wedding venue and they wrote down were everyone was going to sit.

"We also have to register for wedding presents," Lori said.

"Where do you wanna register?"

"Uhm, I don't know. Macy's maybe, they have a lot of different stuff there."

"Sure that's fine by me."

They made a day planning, for when what was going to happen. Not just for themselves also for the wedding venue, so they knew when they needed to do something.

"I think we've got everything so far," Lori said.

"We just need one thing."

"And what is that?" Lori asked as she turned to face him.

"This," Callen answered and kissed her as he pushed her down onto the couch. They lay there kissing for a while until Julie started crying. "I'll get her."

Julie didn't calm down immediately so he took her to the living room so she wouldn't wake up Myra.

"Hey Julie, it's okay. Shhhhhhhh," Callen said as he rocked her in his arms. "I know sweetie. Shall we go find mommy to see if she has some milk for you?" Callen walked to the living room. "Mommy, Julie wants to have some milk."

"Come here little girl," Lori said as Callen handed her the baby. "You're hungry little girl?" Lori exposed her breast and held Julie close. Julie immediately started drinking. "There's a good girl."

Callen stood there watching as Lori fed their daughter. Lori looked at him and saw him smiling at them.

"You're staring honey," Lori joked.

"Yeah I know, I just love watching you with our daughters, especially when you're feeding them. That looks very cute."

"Or are you just trying to get a peek at my breasts?" Lori asked in a teasing tone.

"Maybe," Callen joked and Myra started crying.

"Why don't you stop staring and get Myra?" Lori said with a smile.

Callen grabbed Myra and went into the kitchen to warm a bottle up. Once the bottle was warm he took it to the living room and sat down next to Lori. Myra was crying even louder.

"It's okay my hungry little girl, it's coming," Callen said and he held the bottle in front of her mouth. Myra immediately found the pacifier and started drinking. "They are definitely two hungry little girls."

"Yeah that they are, but that's okay. They need to eat well," Lori said as she put Julie over her shoulder for a burp.

"Do you also have outfits for them for our wedding?"

"No, not yet, will do that when I go for my final dress fitting. They're growing so fast so it's hard to buy something now, they may not fit in it by the time we get married."

"Yeah they are growing fast. I remember when they were just born how small they were and them lying in the NICU. And look at them now, two healthy baby girls who have grown quite a bit."

"Yeah, it was hard seeing them lay there so small. I'm glad everything turned out okay."

"Yeah me too."

They stayed together on the couch with the girls in their arms until they had fallen asleep again. Callen placed Myra in her crib and did the same with Julie. And while he was at it he did the same with Lori. Lori loved it, being carried to bed like that.

"You know honey; you're getting quite the practice for our wedding night like this."

"Haha yeah that's true and for the rest I don't need any practice," Callen said in a cheeky voice.

"No, that's true. You're quite good in that department already."

"You're not so bad yourself," Callen replied as he laid her down on the bed. "But a little bit more practice never hurts." Callen had a smirk on his face as he kissed her.

His kisses felt so good. The moment Callen crushed his lips down on hers she was gone. She loved the way he kissed her, with so much passion and desire. She moaned against his lips as he slid his tongue inside of her. God she loved that man so much. If he kept kissing her like this she didn't know if she was able to hold off on sex till their wedding night, and it wasn't like they hadn't done it before yet so they didn't need to wait for that. Callen moved his lips towards her neck and Lori moaned as he found her sweet spot.

"G, baby," Lori moaned. She felt Callen smirk against her skin. "G, honey. Maybe we should wait." Callen stopped kissing her.

"I know you said you wanted to wait till our wedding night, but with everything that happened lately I don't think I can wait that long."

"I know, me neither. But it's not that. I don't know if it's good to do for my injuries."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about them for a moment."

"I just don't know if we should now. I don't know if my ribs can take it. I'll tell you what; I'll call the doctor tomorrow and ask if it's alright to do. And then we can maybe do it tomorrow."

"Alright, I think I can wait one more night."

"Maybe more if the doctor says no."

"Well let's just hope the doctor says yes then," Callen said and he kissed her again. "I'm just gonna go lock up and then I'll join you here."

"That's fine."

A couple minutes later Callen came back in the bedroom and Lori was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I thought you would've changed into your PJ's," Callen said.

"I wanted to but I thought why not let you help me," Lori said in a playful tone.

"I'd be happy to."

Callen helped her undress while he kept his eyes on hers. He pulled her PJ's on and kissed her again. He pushed down onto the bed and he straddled her without crushing her. After a few minutes of kissing Callen rolled onto his side on the bed and gathered Lori in his arms.

"I love you so much," Callen said in a deep passionate voice.

"I love you too," Lori said as she crawled closer to Callen.

Callen gave her a kiss on her head. He circled his finger over Lori's back and he felt Lori relax even more in his arms. A little later she'd fallen asleep and Callen followed her a few minutes later.

….

The next day, while Callen was at work, Lori called the doctor. It was a bit awkward for Lori to ask and the doctor had to laugh a little as she asked it.

She was just making a sandwich when her phone chirped. She looked and saw she had a message from Callen. She opened it and the message read:

'Have you called the doctor yet? I love you.'

'Yes I have and I love you too,' Lori replied.

'And what did he say?'

'That's for me to know and for you to find out later when you get home.'

'Come one honey, just tell me.'

'Nope, you'll just have to wait till you get home.'

'Tease.'

'Tough. I gotta go, Myra's crying. Love you.'

'Love you too.'

Callen threw his phone back on his desk.

"Everything okay G?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Lori was just teasing me a bit."

Sam couldn't help but laugh a little. He had an idea what Lori was teasing him about.

"You're having sexy message talk with Lori?" Deeks said and Called gave him a stern look.

"Deeks!" Kensi said.

"What? I'm just curious."

"Zip it Deeks, unless you wanna get slapped."

"What? I can't be curious?"

"No, not about my love life with Lori," Callen said. "That's none of your business. I don't ask you about the girls you date and I don't want you asking about me and Lori. Got it?"

"Got it," Deeks said a little embarrassed.

"Good," Callen said and he went back to his paperwork.

A little later they had a new case they got started with. Callen had to stay a little later to wrap the case up so he sent a text to Lori telling her he was going to be late.

Lori wasn't happy about it, but she knew it sometimes came with the job. She just missed him and wanted him to come home. Lori had dinner by herself and brought the girls to bed a little later. She was getting the hang of walking with a cast and crutches, although when she held one of the babies she'd only use one. She put their music mobiles on and watched them as they lay in their cribs. Their baby blues eyes looked up at her while they sucked on their pacifiers. They were absolutely adorable. Having them was absolutely the best thing that had happened in her live, that and getting engaged to Callen. She watched them for a little while until they had fallen asleep. Lori decided to go lie down in bed and wait for Callen there.

"Hey Lori, I'm home," Callen said but he didn't hear anything so he figured Lori maybe was already asleep.

He shut down the lights and locked up. He grabbed a beer on the way to the bedroom. When he stood in the door opening the beer bottle almost fell out of his hands as he stood dead in his tracks.


	22. Chapter 22

"Hi honey, I was waiting for you," Lori said.

Callen just stood there with his mouth open in shock. He looked at Lori lying on their bed, half naked.

"W-w-w-w-…. What are you doing?" Callen stumbled over his words.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for you to get into bed," Lori said in a sweet voice.

Callen put his beer down on the dresser and walked to the bed. He sat down on the bed next to Lori and kissed her.

"Does this mean we can have sex?"

"Yes, the doctor said it was okay to do as long as my ribs didn't hurt."

"Okay and are you sure you wanna do it? Cus you said you wanted to wait till our wedding night."

"I know I said that, but I don't think I can wait any longer. I love you and with everything that happened lately I just wanna be with you again."

"I love you too and I wanna be with you again. I just wanna make sure you're sure since you're the one who suggested it."

Lori pulled Callen towards her and kissed him. Once Callen was fully in the bed she turned him around so she was on top. She straddled him and took her bra off.

"This sure enough?"

Callen just smiled at her. He sat up and kissed her again with a lot of passion. Lori quickly got rid of Callen's shirt. Callen rolled her on her back and he made work of his other clothes except for his boxers. He loved having her in his arms like this again and kissing her like this again.

"Just tell me if I hurt you okay," Callen said and Lori nodded.

Callen crashed his lips to hers again in an eager and passionate kiss. He wanted her so bad. It had been so long since they had been together like this. They took their time, feeling the love of being so close to each other. Callen caressed every part of her body, making her feel his want and need. His touch on her body felt so good again, Callen was just so passionate whenever they made love. After about an hour on kissing and hands roaming over their bodies Callen buried himself inside of her. It felt so good to both of them. They made passionate and sweet love, Callen was very careful not to hurt her. After 2 rounds they lay side by side on the bed, breathing heavily.

"That…was…amazing," Lori said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yeah…..wow."

Lori rolled over to Callen and snuggled against him.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Callen said and he kissed her. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No you didn't, you were very gentle."

"Good, I would have hated it if I hurt you. I just tried to be as gentle as I could with your ribs and this being the first time since you had the girls."

"Thank you, that's very sweet of you. I'm really glad we didn't wait till our wedding night."

"Yeah me too. I love making love to you."

"I love making love to you too. And it's not like our wedding night won't be special, it will be special cus it'll be the first night I get to spend with you as your wife," Lori said and she gave him another kiss.

Lori put her panties back on and grabbed Callen's shirt to sleep in. Callen only grabbed his boxers. Callen smiled as he saw Lori wearing his shirt.

"What?" Lori said as she saw Callen smiling at her.

"My shirt looks good on you."

"You don't mind me wearing it right?"

"No of course not."

They lay back down on the bed. Lori pulled the sheets over them and snuggled against Callen. Her head was on his chest and her good leg was wrapped around his. Her arm was around his chest and Callen's arms were around her.

"Goodnight honey," Lori said.

"Goodnight honey," Callen said and he pulled her even closer and planted a kiss on her head.

The morning Callen woke up early and he saw Lori still lying on his chest. He thought back to last night. It felt so good making love to her again. He pulled her a little closer and took in her smell. He lay his head down on hers and he dozed off a little again.

15 minutes later they were woken up by the alarm clock. Callen moved over to turn it off while Lori grunted and stretched in his arms.

"Good morning honey," Callen said.

"Good morning baby."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I slept very well. I was pretty tired after last night."

"Yeah me too, it was really good though."

"Yeah it was really good. Do you really have to go to work? I like lying like this."

"Yeah me too, I could lay like this forever. But I really have to go to work."

Callen turned Lori back around on her back and gave her a kiss.

"I'm just gonna hop in the shower, want me to help you wash you?"

"Sure, but I can't go in the shower."

"I know that baby," Callen said.

He lifted her up and walked to the bathroom. He sat her down on the edge of the tub and opened the tab. He took his shirt and her panties off. He grabbed a washing cloth and wetted it. Lori loved it to feel his touch on her body, even if it was through a washing cloth. Lori looked at him just standing there in his boxers and she brought him down to her lips and kissed him. Callen grabbed her by her hips and lifted her up. Lori wrapped her legs around him as Callen set her down on the dresser.

"Are you sure honey?"

"Yes, stop asking me if I'm sure. If I wasn't I wouldn't have initiated it."

Callen just smiled and kissed her again. They made love on the dresser in the bathroom. After they had regained their breaths Callen continued washing Lori and washed her hair. After she was dried off and dressed Callen hopped in the shower himself. Lori went to get the girls since they started crying just after she was dried off. She changed and dressed them and lay them down in their playpens. Lori fed Julie first. As she was feeding Julie Myra started to cry too.

"G, could you come feed Myra? I'm feeding Julie."

"Yeah, be right there."

About a minute later Callen walked into the living room and picked up Myra. He tried to calm her down as he was warming her bottle. He let her suck on his finger for a little while and that helped. As he walked back to the living room he put the pacifier of the bottle in her mouth. When the bottle was finished he saw Sam pulling up.

"Could you burp her? Sam's here."

"Sure," Lori said and she put Julie back in her playpen and took Myra.

"See ya later honey," Callen said and he gave her a kiss.

"See ya. Have a good day. Be careful."

"I will." Callen gave the girls a kiss too and grabbed his bag and left for work. "Morning Sam."

"Morning G, you look refreshed."

"Yeah had a good night's sleep."

"Ah I get it. You and Lori right."

"As a matter of fact yes."

As soon as they sat down behind their desks Eric whistled them up and they got started on the case. Callen had to go undercover for the case. Before he went undercover he went home to pack up some things and say goodbye to Lori and the girls.

"Hey G," Lori said as Callen stepped into the house. "What are you doing home so early?"

"Hey Lori," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "I came to pack some stuff."

"Pack? Are you going somewhere? You have to go undercover?" Lori said with a sad voice.

"Yes I do, I don't know for how long. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, it's your job. You have to sometimes, I understand."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," Lori said and Callen kissed her.

Callen went to pack a bag. Lori sat there on the couch thinking about what just happened. Callen had to go undercover again. She didn't like that, she was always afraid that something would happen and she couldn't deal with that. She missed him terrible when he was gone and so did the girls.

Callen came back out of the bedroom and he went to say goodbye to Julie and Myra.

"Be good to mommy, daddy will miss you," Callen said and he gave both girls a kiss. "Daddy loves you."

Callen looked at Lori sitting on the couch and he saw that her eyes were a little watery. Callen sat next to her and pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you honey. Everything is gonna be fine, don't worry. I'll be back before you know it. I promise."

"Just be careful and come back in one piece. The girls and I need you."

"I will honey, I promise."

"I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you more. If you need help with something you can always call Michelle."

"I know."

"Good," Callen said and he sat her up and gave her one last passionate kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Take care of the girls and yourself while I'm gone."

"I will, don't worry about us. Just make sure you come back safe and sound soon."

"I will. I'll see if I can let you know something about how it's going, maybe through Sam or something."

"Alright, just make sure it's safe for you to do. I don't want you to get your cover blown just because of me."

"Don't worry honey, it's gonna be fine. I gotta go, I'll see ya later," Callen said and he gave her one more kiss before going back to the office.

As soon as Callen was out the door Lori grabbed her phone and sent him a text. Callen had just put his back in the car when he heard his phone chirp. He grabbed it and saw that he had a text message. He opened the message and read it.

'I'm missing you already, Love Lori.'

Callen went back into the house and gave Lori one more kiss.

"I'm missing you too," Callen said. "I really have to go now. I love you."

"I love you too. I know, go."

Callen gave her one more kiss and left again. This time he drove off to the office.

"How'd Lori take it?" Sam asked when Callen was getting ready in the armory.

"She wasn't really thrilled about it but she understood."

"I can ask Michelle to stop by."

"I told Lori she could call her if she needed anything."

"Okay that's good. You ready G?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Callen went for a last debriefing with Hetty and went upstairs for the last information from Eric and Nell. The put his earwig in and his button cam on and grabbed the last of his stuff and left. Sam followed him shortly after and stayed at a safe distance to keep an eye on things.

…

Lori sat at home looking at her two daughters lying peacefully in their cribs and she thought about their father. She hoped this undercover job would be over soon so Callen could come home. Callen hadn't been away a lot since the girls were born but when he did the girls were different. They cried more than they did when Callen was there, they missed him too.

That night the girls wouldn't fall asleep. As soon as Lori left the room the girls started crying again.

"Just go to sleep my little sweeties, mommy's right here."

Lori tried to calm them down by singing to them but as soon as she walked out of the room they started crying again. Lori decided to set up the travel beds in her room so the twins could sleep there. She put the twins in their travel beds and sat down on the bed. She just watched some TV in her bed. After 20 minutes the girls finally fell asleep but Lori just stayed in the bedroom, afraid that the girls would wake up otherwise.

By 10.30pm Lori decided to go to bed too. She wanted to get her PJ's on but she decided to grab one of Callen's shirts. She grabbed one of Callen's training shirts from his closet and put it on. She grabbed one of her PJ bottom and put them on before going into bed. She grabbed Callen's pillow and cuddled up to it. At least this way she had a little bit of Callen next to her. The bed was just so lonely without him in it. It took a while before Lori fell asleep. She was tossing and turning in the bed. She shook up in bed.

'Oh good, it was only a dream,' Lori thought to herself.

She lay back down and looked at the picture of her, Callen and the girls on her nightstand. They looked very happy in that picture. She missed him, their family wasn't complete without him. She missed having him next to her at night, missed snuggling up to him, feeling his arms around her, kissing him, seeing him play with the girls. He really was a good daddy, the girls adored him. When he would come home from work the girls just smiled as he said hello to them. She turned around and saw the girls sleeping peacefully in their beds.

A little later Lori fell back asleep again. She was glad the next morning when she woke up that the girls had slept through the night. She got herself dressed and then dressed the girls. She hoped Callen's undercover mission didn't last too long. Christmas was coming up in 2 weeks and she wanted him here so they could spend their first Christmas together as a family.

She put the girls in there playpens and went to get some breakfast.

….

4 days later Callen still wasn't home from his undercover mission, but Lori knew Callen was still safe. Sam had kept her up to date, but she still wanted him back here at home. The girls were very restless. They were crying a lot, nothing Lori did would calm them down anymore. She didn't know what to do anymore, and then she remembered they have made some videos of them and the girls which also had Callen's voice on it. She turned the DVD player and the TV on. She inserted the DVD and played it.

She saw Callen on the TV playing with the girls. As soon as Callen started talking the girls seemed to relax a little. Lori let the DVD play until the girls were completely calmed down again and she didn't mind watching it either. She loved to see Callen with their girls.

"You are really two sweet little girls," Lori said as she looked down at Myra and Julie in her arms. "I know you miss daddy, I miss him too and I'm sure daddy misses us too. He's gonna be home soon, I hope."

She put the girls down on the ground on their playing mat and lay down next to them. Lori looked at them and realized how much they had grown since the day they were born. In a few months they'd probably be crawling around the house. She hoped they could maybe take a few steps at their hands when she and Callen were getting married.

"Mommy loves you girls very much," Lori said and she gave both girls a kiss. "And I know daddy loves you too. He's gonna be really happy to see you again."

Lori relaxed today with the girls. After they heard Callen's voice on the TV they were pretty calm for the rest of the day. By 7 the girls had their baths and Lori put them in their beds, they still slept in her bedroom. The girls still wouldn't sleep unless she was there. Lori sat down on their bed and just looked over some wedding details before going to bed around 11pm.

It was just past 1am when Callen walked into the house. Quietly he made his way to the bedroom. He saw Lori asleep in their bed, curled up to his pillow and wearing one of his shirts. Callen smiled as he saw her. He saw the travel beds for the girls standing in the room and he saw them asleep in it. He walked over to them and smiled as he saw his little girls asleep. He bent down and gave both of them a soft kiss. He quietly took his clothes off and joined Lori in bed. Lori stirred a bit as he got into the bed. He slowly removed the pillow from her arms and placed them around him. He softly stroked her cheek and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He heard Lori moan a little as she snuggled closer against him. Callen moved him arms around her and her held close. He had missed her so much, he was happy to have her in his arms again. He wanted her to wake up so he could give her a proper kiss but he didn't have the heart to wake her up. He just lay close to her and took in her scent. He gave her a soft kiss on her head before he felt asleep with her in his arms.

Lori woke up the next morning and felt she wasn't alone. She was afraid to open her eyes for a moment, afraid that he would be gone if she did, but then she heard his voice.

"Good morning honey," Callen said.

"You're really here? It's not a dream?" Lori said with her eyes still close.

"Does this feel like a dream?" Callen asked and he gave her a kiss.

Lori felt his passion on her lips. She whimpered when Callen broke the kiss. She opened her eyes and looked right into Callen's blue eyes.

"You're back!" Lori said and she threw herself in his arms even more. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Callen said as he nuzzled his face in her neck.

They lay there hugging each other for a little while before they kissed again.

"When did you get home?"

"Around 1am. You looked so peacefully asleep, I didn't wanna wake you."

"That's very sweet of you, but I wouldn't have minded it."

"I'll remember that for next time," Callen joked.

"I hope it's not anytime soon. I miss you too much when you're gone and so do the girls."

"I know, I miss you girls too. I see you put the girls in our room."

"Yeah, they would sleep otherwise."

"Really?"

"Yeah, every time I left the room they would start crying again so I just put them here. They really missed you. Once I even put one of the DVD's on so they could hear your voice."

"I'm sorry honey, I get this must be difficult for you."

"It wasn't easy, but that was mostly because I missed you very much. But now you're home again."

They kissed again. Their kiss was very passionate and hungry. They would've made love if they weren't interrupted by the girls crying.

"I'll get them." Callen rolled out of bed and went to the beds and picked the girls up. "Hey, it's okay. Daddy's home again. Daddy missed you very much." Callen gave both girls a kiss and sat back down on bed again.

He sat against the headboard and Lori sat up next to him. Callen had put his knees up and he lay the girls down on his lap so they were facing him. Lori saw a little smile on their faces as they looked at Callen.

"They missed you very much. They're happy you're home again," Lori said.

"I've missed them too and I'm glad to be home again with my family," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

They stayed in bed for a little while until Julie started crying.

"Looks like we have a hungry little girl," Callen said.

"Yeah we do, I'll just go warm her bottle so you can feed her."

A little later Lori came back in the bedroom with a warm bottle of milk. She handed the bottle to Callen and took Myra from his arms. Callen moved the bottle towards Julie's mouth and she immediately started drinking.

"There's a good girl."

Lori looked at Callen as he fed Julie. She saw that he had missed them very much and that he missed doing this with the girls. As Julie finished her bottle Myra started crying too. Lori handed Myra to Callen.

"You can feed her too, I'll burp Julie," Lori said.

"Thank you, I'd like that."

Callen took Myra and the bottle and fed her too while Lori burped Julie. Satisfied the girls lay in their arms after they had been fed and burped.

"Is it just me or have they grown while I was away?"

"They grow really fast, it looks like they are bigger every day."

"Yeah they do. Before we know it they'll be crawling and walking around the house."

"Yeah, we better make sure we have the house baby proof by then."

"Yeah good point."

"Don't you have to go to work today?"

"Nope, Hetty gave me the day off today."

"That's nice. I'm sure the girls will love spending the day with their daddy."

"And what about mommy? Does she like spending time with daddy too?"

"Of course I do. I would love too."

"Good."

They lay in bed a little longer before they got the girls dressed. Callen sat down on the couch with the girls while Lori grabbed some breakfast.

"You need a hand honey?" Callen called from the living room.

"No thanks, I'm good. I got a hang of walking with a cast and I've got a walking boot now so I can walk a little bit easier without crutches," Lori said as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Ah that's good. How are your ribs feeling?"

"They feel a lot better."

"Good, when is your next check-up?"

"Tomorrow at 8am."

"Okay good, I'll go with you."

"Thanks. I'm glad that you're back again. Now we can decorate the house for Christmas."

"Uhm….yeah."

Lori noticed a little bit of hesitation in his voice.

"Don't you wanna decorate the house for Christmas?"

"Uhm, I've done that before. Never really decorated it. I didn't really do much during Christmas. Sometimes I went over to Sam's."

"Well it's different this year, you have a family now."

"Yes I do," Callen said with a smile on his face. "And I'm very glad for that. Alright I think it'll be nice to decorate the house, but I don't have any Christmas stuff."

"I do. The boxes are in the garage. Although maybe we'll have to by some more stuff since this house is a little bigger then my house was and maybe also some lights for outside."

"Sure, we'll go buy some new stuff and a tree."

"Yes that sounds like fun. We could get stockings for us and the girls and put them on the mantel."

"I like that. We'll go shopping this weekend and then we can set it up."

"That's a good idea."

"I missed you very much," Callen said as he leaned towards her for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'm glad you're home safe and sound. How did it go?"

"It went fine. It took a few days before we found out what they were up to and when it was gonna happen, but we got them all in the end."

"Good and you're not hurt in any way?"

"No honey I'm perfectly fine, don't worry."

"Good."

Lori leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. Together they watched the girls in Callen's arms. Lori noticed how different they were now that Callen was back again. They had missed their daddy. Lori went to get some light stuff done around the house. Callen said he would do it but Lori told him to just spend time with the girls.

She heard some noises coming from the living room so she peeked her head out of the kitchen. She saw Callen blowing kisses on the girls' tummies and the girls were giggling a little bit. Lori smiled as she looked at the three of them. Their family was complete again. When she found out she was pregnant with Callen's baby she had no idea what it was going to be like. But here they were together with two little girls and she had never been happier than right now. She was engaged to a man she loved more than anything and they had two beautiful little girls. They had already been through so much in the short time they had been together. But they managed to get through that and they would make it through anything that would come their way, she just hoped it wasn't more drama and hurt.

They spend the rest of the day together as a family. Callen loved being home again. He had missed his girls. Those two little girls just lid up his world. Whenever he came home from a hard day at work he would look down at them and he couldn't help but smile. All the things that happened that day would fade into the background as he spent time with Myra and Julie.

After Myra and Julie were peacefully asleep in their cribs Callen packed up the travel beds and he returned to the living room.

"The girls are asleep so it's just you me," Callen said and he scooped Lori up in his arms.

"Oh, where are we going?" Lori asked in a cheeky voice.

"Someplace more comfortable then the couch."

Callen kissed her as he walked to the bedroom. Callen lay her down on the bed and lay down on top her, careful not to hurt her ribs.

"I missed you so much," Callen said as he kissed Lori.

"I missed you too."

They finished what they started that morning. They made very passionate love together. They were both very close when they heard the girls crying.

"Argh," they both grunted.

"They have such bad timing," Lori said.

"Yeah they do."

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere we're not done," Lori said and she put her robe on.

Callen lay back down on the bed with a heavy grunt. Lori walked to the girls' room to see what was wrong. A little later she walked back into the bedroom.

"They both had a dirty diaper, but they are asleep again. So we can continue where we left off," Lori said as she took her robe off.

Lori lay back down on the bed and Callen lay on top of her again. After they were back in the moment they resumed their love making.

…

The next morning Callen took Lori to her doctor's appointment. The doctor was very pleased with her recovery. Callen dropped her and the girls off at home before he went to the office.

"Good morning Mr. Callen," Hetty said as Callen walked into her office.

"Good morning Hetty. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. What's up Mr. Callen?"

"I just went to a doctor's appointment with Lori."

"Is she alright?" Hetty asked concerned.

"Yes she's fine, it was just a check-up. She can start work again next week for 2 days a week. Only desk work, no field work yet."

"That's very good. I'm sure we can make her useful here in the office with research or something."

"That's good. She was looking forward to coming back to work again."

"How are you two doing with the girls?"

"We're fine. We really like having them at home. They are so adorable."

"Well I'm happy for you Mr. Callen, that you found someone special in your life."

"Thank you Hetty. I don't know what I would do without them."

"How are the wedding plans going?"

"They are going very well. You should have got the invitation."

"Yes I did, it was a very lovely invitation. I'm really happy for the two of you."

"Thank you Hetty."

"Well, tell Ms. Carter I'd be happy to see her back at work on Monday."

"I will," Callen said and he went to the bullpen.

Around 6 Callen walked into the house.

"Hey honey," Lori said.

"Hey baby," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "Hetty was very pleased you could return to work on Monday."

"Good, I'm looking forward to coming back, but what are we gonna do with the girls?"

"Right, we have to get a baby sitter or daycare."

"Well for daycare there's usually a waiting list. But I think I know someone. It's someone I know from the FBI. After she got shot and her partner died she didn't want to be a field agent anymore so she started a daycare center at the FBI office. Last I heard she moved to LA. I think I still have her number. I can give her a call to see if she's available."

"What is she like? You knew her well?"

"She's very nice. We worked together a couple of times. And from what I heard she did a great job at the daycare center there."

"Uhm sure, give her a call."

Lori grabbed her phone and searched for her number and gave her a call.

"This is Emily Donovan," Emily said as she answered her phone.

"Hey Emily, it's Lori Carter, we worked together at the FBI."

"Oh yes hi Lori. How are you?"

"I'm very well. How are you? I heard you were living in LA."

"I'm fine too. Yes I am. It's a beautiful city."

"Oh yes it is. I'm living here too now since a year or 3."

"Really? That's nice. We should get together sometime."

"I'd like that."

"So you're still working for the bureau?"

"No, I transferred to NCIS when I came to LA."

"Ah navy nice."

"I actually have a question for you, don't you if you're available or if you want to."

"Sure, what's the question?"

"I was wondering if you were still in the daycare business."

"Not exactly, I'm a nanny now. Well technically anyway, don't have a job at the moment. Why you ask?"

"Well I was wondering if you could become my nanny."

"You have kids? That's wonderful."

"Yes, I have two little twin girls of 3 months."

"That's cute. Yeah I'd love to. Is it okay if I came by to talk things through with you?"

"Yes, I wanted to suggest that too. How about tomorrow evening?"

"Tomorrow evening sounds good. Let's say 8?"

"8 is good," Lori said and she gave her address. "See ya tomorrow."

"See ya," Emily said and she hung up.

"She said she'd do it. She's coming over tomorrow to talk through some things."

"That's great."

…..

The next day when Callen was at work Lori got a visitor.

"Hey Nate, it's good to see you again," Lori said once she had opened the door.

"Hey Lori, it's good to be back."

"Come on in," Lori said and Nate stepped in.

"So you and Callen huh?"

"Yeah, it kinda happened unexpected but we're very happy now."

"Good, so these must be the little girls," Nate said as he walked over to the playpens.

"Yes, that's Myra and this is Julie."

"They are very cute. I'm happy for you and Callen."

"Thank you. So what brought you by?"

"Hetty asked me to come check up on you. She told me what happened."

"Nate, I'm fine. I don't need a shrink."

"Hetty just wants to make sure that you're okay mentally."

"I'm fine. I lost part of my memory, but that's all good now. I'm perfectly fine to go to work."

"Alright, but Hetty asked me to keep an eye on you some I'm gonna be staying here in LA for a little while and we'll have an evaluation next week."

"Sure, that's fine. Oh yeah before I forget. I have something to give you. We didn't know where you were so we couldn't send it, but we'd really like it if you could come," Lori said as she gave Nate a wedding invitation.

"You and Callen getting married?"

"Yep we are."

"Well, I'd love to come. I'll definitely try to make it, don't know where I'm gonna be then but I'll definitely try."

"Great."

Nate left and Lori just relaxed at home with the girls for the rest of the day. At 8pm Emily stopped by. Lori and Callen liked her both right away. She was a very sweet person who really cared about kids. And the girls seemed to like her too. They hired her as their nanny.

…..

That Monday Lori went back to work.

"Goodbye my little sweeties, be good to Emily while mommy and daddy are gone," Lori said as she gave the girls a kiss. Callen saw that she was getting a little bit emotional. "Mommy loves you."

"We're gonna be fine Lori, don't worry. And if there's anything I know how to reach you. But don't worry. We're gonna be fine."

"Okay, could you send me some pictures of them during the day?"

"Of course."

"Okay thank you. Bye bye sweeties."

"It's gonna be fine honey," Callen said once they were in the car.

"I'm just gonna miss them."

"I know, I missed them too. But they're gonna be fine."

"I know, it's just hard the first day."

"It's gonna be alright," Callen said as he grabbed her hand.

"Well good morning Ms. Carter. Welcome back," Hetty said as they walked in.

"Thanks Hetty, it's good to be back," Lori said as she sat behind her desk.

A little later the others were there too and Eric whistled them up for a case. Lori had a little bit of trouble walking up the stairs. Callen insisted he'd help her but she didn't want to.

Eric and Nell informed them about the case and they went to work. Lori stayed in the bullpen to do some research on the case. She wanted to be out there in the field too, but she couldn't go out with a foot still in a cast. The others popped in and out of the office during the day. Lori had enough of sitting behind the desk so she decided to go for a little walk.

She ended up in the armory and did some target practice. It was a little bit hard to get the right balance with her foot but she made some good shots. She loaded another magazine and did another round. As she was shooting she lost her balance and she fell over.


	23. Chapter 23

"Au," Lori said when she lay there on the ground. Luckily G didn't see that, she thought. Just as she thought that the door to the range opened and she heard Callen's voice.

"Lori, are you okay? What happened?" Callen said as he helped her up.

"I'm fine. I just lost my balance as I was shooting."

"You didn't shoot yourself or something, did you?" Callen checked her over for injuries.

"No, don't worry. I was done firing when I fell."

"Okay good. You sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, didn't fall that hard."

"Good. Come on. We've got some new leads."

Together they walked back to the bullpen and continued with the case. By 5.30 they had the case finished and were almost finished with their paperwork. Just past 6 Callen and Lori walked back into the house.

"Hey Emily," Callen said.

"Hey you two," Emily said.

"How did the girls do?" Lori asked as she walked over to the playpens.

"They did very well. They are two sweet girls." Lori smiled when she saw both girls lying peacefully in their playpens sucking on their pacifiers and looking up at their mobiles. "They ate very well and slept a couple hours in the afternoon and I read them a little story and I played with them on their playing mat."

"That's good to hear. And thank you for all the pictures. I loved them."

"You're welcome."

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Thank you for the offer, but I've got some other stuff do to. So maybe another time."

"Alright that's fine. Thank you and we'll see you tomorrow again."

"Yep, I'll be here, 8.30 right?"

"Yes, 8.30. See ya."

"Bye," Emily said and she went back home.

"See I told you the girls were gonna be fine," Callen said once Lori had closed the door.

"I know, it's just hard to leave them at home for the first day."

"I know honey. I had that too, the first day I went back to work after they were born and I still do sometimes. I'm always happy to come to you three," Callen said and he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer.

"I'm always happy to see you come home too," Lori said and she moved her arms around Callen's neck.

Callen moved his head closer to hers and his lips crashed down on hers. It felt so good to kiss her. He would never get tired of that and by the way she was kissing him back neither would she.

"I love you honey," Lori whispered to him in between kisses.

"I love you too baby."

They kissed for a little while before Callen noticed Lori began feeling uncomfortable. He picked her up and set her down on the couch.

"I'll go make dinner. You just rest up. You can't stand too long on your foot," Callen said.

"Thank you G."

"No problem," Callen said and he gave her one more kiss.

He kissed the girls as he picked them up and he handed them to Lori before going into the kitchen.

"Hey there, my sweet girls. Mommy missed you today. She's happy to see you again," Lori said and she gave both girls a kiss. "Mommy loves you."

Lori lay down on the couch with both girls on her chest. She looked down at them. They were definitely the most beautiful two little babies she had ever seen. She saw a lot in them from both her and Callen. They had her hair and Callen's beautiful blue eyes and his smile, although Callen said it was her smile. Callen peeked his head out of the kitchen and saw his 3 girls lying on the couch together and he smiled at the sight.

…

That weekend they went shopping for Christmas decorations and a tree. Lori was pushing the stroller and Callen was pushing the cart. They walked through the store and bought a lot of stuff. 4 socks for on the mantle, lights for outside, new lights for in the tree, some new decorations for in the tree, snow paint and figures for the windows, figurines to place around the house and a lot of other decorations.

"Oh my G, these are so cute," Lori said as she picked up some baby clothes.

Callen looked at them. It were two little oncies with Santa's and reindeers on them.

"They are cute yeah. You wanna get those for the girls?"

"Yeah I think it would be nice."

"Sure, I'm sure they are gonna look very cute in those."

They bought some other stuff before they went to look for a good tree. After about 5 minutes they found a very nice tree. They paid for the stuff. Lori put the babies back into the car while Callen put the tree on the roof. They put the stroller and all the other stuff in the trunk and drove home. The girls had fallen asleep in the car so when they got home Lori put them in their cribs. When she got back Callen had already moved all of the stuff out of the car and he was busy putting up the Christmas tree.

"Where do you want I honey?" Callen asked.

"How about here?" Lori said and she pointed to the spot left of the kitchen.

"Yeah I think that's good."

Lori grabbed a pot for Callen to put the tree in. Callen put the tree in and after they were sure it was stabile and in the right place they started decorating it. They had fun while decorating the tree. A half hour later the tree was fully decorated and they both looked at it.

"It looks good," Lori said.

"Yeah it does. I can't believe I never got one before. It looks nice in the house."

"Yeah it does. Just picture this, you and me lying on a blanket on the floor with the fireplace on and just the lights of the tree."

"I like that idea," Callen said and he brought Lori closer to him to kiss her but Lori refused.

"Not so fast. Christmas tradition. You must kiss me under the mistletoe."

"Uhm," Callen said and he scratched his head. "I don't think we have mistletoe."

"Of course we do," Lori said and she pulled some mistletoe out of one of her boxes and she wanted to hang in up over the kitchen doorway but Callen did that for her. "Now you can kiss me," Lori said once they were both standing under it.

Callen grabbed her and pulled her to him and gave her a very passionate kiss.

"We're gonna have a wonderful Christmas the 4 of us," Callen said.

"Yes we are. Our first family Christmas."

Lori went to decorate the house inside while Callen decorate the outside of the house.

"Wow, this looks amazing," Callen said when he saw the decorated house. "I almost don't recognize the house."

"I love Christmas. I love decorating the house. I love all the lights, everything looks so cheerful."

"You're absolutely right," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"How's the outside going?"

"Very nice. It's looks really good. I just came to get some more lights."

A little later they were done with decorating. Lori came outside and looked at all the lights on the house. It really looked beautiful. They had strings of lights at the lowest part of the roof and on the porch stood a little Christmas tree with lights. In the garden they had a reindeer and Santa's sled. They walked in and Callen saw the entire house decorated. Apart from the Christmas there were a lot of figurines in the room. From the mantle the socks were hanging. Callen looked at them and saw 4 socks with their names on it. That looked really nice.

"It really looks beautiful honey," Callen said.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm looking forward to spending our first Christmas together."

"Yeah me too. My first real Christmas."

"You never had a Christmas in your foster homes?" Lori asked as they sat down on the couch.

"Not really. In some houses we did, but it was never really big. And after I was living on my own I never really was interested in it. Sometimes I was even at work on an undercover mission. Only since I've been with NCIS I celebrated it sometimes when Sam invited me over on Christmas Eve."

"Well, I'm gonna make sure that this is a very wonderful Christmas."

"It already will be a very wonderful Christmas. I get to spend it with you and our little girls."

"Aw G," Lori said and she snuggled against Callen. "Yeah the 4 of us will definitely have a wonderful Christmas.

….

A couple days before Christmas Lori's cast came off. She didn't have any bandages or casts anymore.

"How does your foot feel?" Callen asked once they were home.

"It feels good. I can finally move it around again," Lori said as she wiggled her foot.

"That's good. It doesn't hurt? And your ribs?"

"Nope it doesn't hurt and my ribs feel fine too. I feel all better again."

"Good. So just out of curiosity, are you coming back full time or a couple days a week?"

"I talked to Hetty and she agreed to me working 3 days a week. The other 2 days I'm gonna spend at home with Myra and Julie."

"That's nice. The girls will love having you at home with them."

"Yeah I think so too. And I'm sure they'll also like it when you'll be at home."

"Yeah maybe I could take a day off every now and then to spend with my three girls."

"I'd like that," Lori said and she kissed Callen.

….

Tonight was Christmas Eve. Together Callen and Lori prepared a nice Christmas dinner. They had stuffed chicken, baked potatoes and coli flower. For the girls they had mashed up the potatoes and the coli flower. They had set the table in the dining room with a nice Christmas plaid and some candles and some flowers on the table. The candles weren't lid yet because of the girls. They put the girls in their chairs and fed them. Both girls ate very well, despite they mess that they made. Their cloths were always full. They cleaned the girls up and dressed them in their Santa oncies to sleep in. They placed them in their cribs.

"They look so cute," Lori said.

"Yeah they do, their first Christmas Eve."

"Goodnight my little sweeties," Lori said and she gave Myra a kiss and placed her pacifier in her mouth. Callen did the same with Julie and they switched babies.

They put their music mobiles on and watched them as they fell asleep. They quietly walked out of the room and sat down at the dinner table. Callen lid the candles while Lori grabbed a bottle of wine.

"Here's to our first Christmas together," Lori said and she raised her glass.

"To our first Christmas," Callen said and they clinked glasses.

They had a very nice meal and they cleaned up together. Once they were finished the girls started crying. Callen went to get them. Lori got the living room together for them. She placed a blanket on the floor in front of the Christmas tree and she put the fire place on. She filled their glasses again and she lay down on the blanket waiting for Callen.

"Hey honey," Lori said when Callen walked back into the room and handed him his glass of wine.

"Hey honey," Callen said and he lay down on the blanket next to her. "This looks beautiful. Just the two of us, the Christmas lights and the fire place."

"Yeah, it does look beautiful. I'm really happy to spend Christmas Eve with you."

"Me too. My first real family Christmas."

"Here's to many, many, many more," Lori said and they toasted.

After they finished the second bottle of wine Callen set their wine glasses back on the table and he rolled Lori on her back and straddled her. Quickly their lips found each other in a passionate and hungry kiss. Callen wanted to get up and carry her to their bed but Lori had other plans. She locked her legs around his waist.

"You really wanna do it here?"

Lori nodded and pulled him back to her. Callen's lips moved down to her neck and Lori arched up to him to give him better access. Clothes were discarded and thrown across the room. Callen pulled the rest of the blanket over them and they made love.

"Merry Christmas G," Lori said once she had regained her breath.

"Merry Christmas Lori."

They kissed and snuggled in each other's arms as they lay there in the afterglow of their lovemaking. A little later they drifted off to sleep. Callen woke up a couple hours later and saw Lori asleep on his chest. He carefully stood up and carried her to the bedroom. He went back to shut the lights off and to put the fireplace out before he joined Lori back in bed.

The next morning they woke up early by the twins crying. Callen quickly got himself dressed and went to get the girls. In the meantime Lori had dressed herself too and she was waiting on the couch for them.

"Merry Christmas mommy," Callen said as she handed Myra to Lori.

"Merry Christmas Myra and Merry Christmas to you too Julie," Lori said and she gave both girls a kiss. "Merry Christmas honey." She gave Callen a kiss too.

"Merry Christmas baby."

They sat there for a little while before Lori placed both girls in their bouncy chairs which were on the table.

"What are you doing honey?" Callen asked.

"Time for presents," Lori said and she went to the Christmas tree and grabbed the gifts. "This is for you honey."

"Thank you," Callen said and he took the present and opened it. He looked astonished at the present. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a picture frame with a picture of Lori, Myra and Julie in it and on the frame was the text: 'My family'. "It's beautiful honey, thank you." Callen gave her a kiss.

"I thought you could take that with you to the office and put it on your desk. That way you can always look at us, even if you're not with us."

"Thank you, that's really sweet of you. I love it."

"Great."

"What are all the other presents?"

"Some are for the girls and there are two more presents for you in it."

"Two more?"

"Yes. It wanted to make it nice, since this is your first family Christmas."

"Thank you honey, but it's already very nice cus I get to spend it with you and our girls."

She gave him a look of awe. "Why don't you open this one? It's for the girls."

Callen opened the presents for the girls. They got a little outfit which said: 'Daddy's little girl', some new toys and bracelets which had their names on one side and Callen's and Lori's name on the other side.

"These are all really beautiful honey. Our girls are gonna love them," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"You're welcome honey. Now go ahead and open your other presents."

"In a minute. First I wanna give you your present."

"You got me a present?"

"Yes I did. Wait right here," Callen said and he went to the bedroom to get the present. "Here you go honey."

"Thank you G," Lori said and she took the present and opened it. "Oh my god G, this is beautiful."

"You like it?"

"I love it, thank you honey," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

"You're welcome."

"Could you help me put it on?"

"Of course," Callen said and Lori turned around and Callen placed the necklace around her neck.

"I'm always gonna wear this," Lori said and she looked at the necklace. It was a silver pendant in the shape of a heart and in the heart was a picture of all 4 of them and on the back stood their initials. "Thank you G. It's beautiful." Callen got another kiss.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

"Of course. Now your other presents," Lori said and she handed him another present. The first one was a stone with 5 little stones in it. "It's a little stone for each one of us. Me, Myra, Julie, your mom and your sister."

"Thank you honey that's really nice," Callen said and he got up and placed it on the mantle next to his box.

"And now your last present."

"You spoil me honey," Callen said as he took the present and sat back down on the couch.

He opened it and he looked at Lori who gave him a cheeky smile.

"It's for later tonight."

"Interesting. I'm sure you're gonna look very good in this."

"Well you'll find out tonight."

They just spent the rest of the day together. In the afternoon they took the girls to go see the Christmas show. They girls were tired by the time they got home so they put them down in their cribs for a nap. Lori put on some light Christmas music. She moved the table and chairs out of the way in the living room.

"What are you doing?" Callen asked.

"I want a dance G. Callen."

"A dance? I'm not much of a dancer."

"Well you're gonna have to learn it anyway cus I wanna dance with my husband on our wedding day."

"A wedding dance?"

"Yes, it's tradition for the bride and groom to share their first dance together as married couple."

"I hadn't thought about that. I'm really not a good dancer."

"Come on, I'll show you, it's not that hard," Lori said and she reached her hand towards Callen and he took it. "Just follow me."

They danced for a little while in the living room. Lori enjoyed dancing with Callen and she couldn't wait for their first dance as husband and wife. Callen got the hang of it after a while.

"See it's not that hard."

"No, you're right it's not," Callen said and he spun her around. "You're okay, with your foot?

"Yeah I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."

They danced for a little while before they girls started crying which meant that they were hungry. They fed them and had dinner themselves after that. Lori went to put the girls in bath while Callen cleaned up. Lori put them in their little floaters and put them in the bath. She guided them threw the water and the girls were smiling as she did that. They kicked their little legs in the water and wiggled their hands. Lori loved seeing them like this. They were having fun. She was so into playing with the girls that she hadn't noticed that Callen was standing in the doorway.

"Looks like you girls are having fun," Callen said and Lori turned around and saw a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, the girls love being in the water."

"Yeah they do. Hey girls, you're having fun with mommy?" Callen said as he tickled their tummies which caused the girls to giggle.

They stayed in the bathtub for a little while before Callen and Lori dried them off and put their PJ's on. They rocked them to sleep while Lori sang them a little Christmas song. By the time the song had ended both girls were asleep in their arms and they gentle placed them in the cribs. Callen stood next to Lori and placed an arm around her waist.

"They really are adorable," Callen said.

"Yeah they are."

"I'm so grateful to have them and you in my life. Thank you for giving me a family."

"You're welcome honey," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss. "And thank you for giving me these two beautiful girls and to have you as my husband soon."

They went back to the living room and sat down on the couch and they watched a Christmas movie. Lori went to the bedroom to put Callen's Christmas present on.

"Hi honey," Lori said as she walked into the living room. Callen looked at her and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Care to join me in bed honey?"

"Of course," Callen shut the TV off and turned down the lights and followed Lori to their bedroom. "You look very sexy in this."

"That was the idea," Lori said and she kissed Callen and pushed him down onto the bed.

Callen moved to the middle of the bed and watched as Lori straddled him. God she looked so sexy in her Christmas outfit, short red skirt with a white furry hem and a blouse that only covered her breasts in the same colors. Even though Callen liked how it looked on her he couldn't wait to take it off of her and make love to her.

Lori bent down and placed a kiss on his lips. She slowly removed Callen's clothes, Callen wanted to help her but she stopped him. She was in control tonight. Callen couldn't wait to make love to her but she was going so slow, she was teasing him. Mostly he was the one doing the teasing so he let Lori teas him too tonight.

After Lori explored his chest she sad up and slowly undid the buttons of her blouse, revealing her red lace bra to Callen. She teased him a little more before she couldn't take it anymore either. She took the remaining clothes off and straddled him again. Callen watched her as she rode him. They were both in heaven while making love. When they almost reached their peaks Callen turned Lori over on her back and finished their love making.

"God, that felt good," Callen breathed out.

"Yeah that was amazing. Maybe I should dress up like that more often."

"I'm not stopping you. You looked very sexy."

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself," Lori said and she rolled over to Callen and snuggled against his chest. "I love you G. Callen."

"And I love you, Lori Carter."

"I hope you had a wonderful Christmas."

"A really wonderful Christmas."

"Good to hear. Goodnight honey," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

"Goodnight honey."

…..

Callen and Lori took the girls out for a walk since it was a beautiful December day. They didn't have to be back at work until after New Year. Lori was pushing the stroller; the girls were peacefully looking at everything around them. They took a walk by the beach and went up to Santa Monica pier. Callen and Lori both did a shooting game and won a stuffed animal for both girls. They smiled as Callen and Lori gave them the animals. They sat down at one of the cafés and they had lunch. They were enjoying themselves when they heard gunfire. Callen and Lori both instinctively grabbed the girls from their stroller and covered them.


	24. Chapter 24

They heard a lot of screams. Callen looked up a saw a man standing on the other side of the terrace with a gun pointed at a woman. The woman had been hit in her arm.

"You crazy bitch, think you could get away from me this easily after you betrayed me like that," the man shouted.

"Take Myra and stay here," Callen said as he handed Myra to Lori.

"Where are you going?" Lori asked.

"Gonna end this, before more people get hurt."

"Be careful."

"I will," Callen said and he grabbed his gun and stood up.

With his gun behind his back he walked up to the men.

"What the hell do you want? Stay out of this, this is private!" The men shouted towards Callen.

"Just put the gun down so we can talk about this."

"No, not gonna happen." Callen moved a few steps closer causing the men to point his gun at Callen. "Hold it right there, don't try to be a hero dude. I swear if you come one step closer I'll blow your brains out."

"You just made a big mistake, _dude_. You just threatened a federal agent," Callen said as he aimed his gun at him. The man was visible shocked. "Put the gun down!"

"I suggest you put your gun down," the man said after the shock wore off.

"Not gonna happen. Put the gun down or I'll shoot and I don't miss."

"Neither do I."

"And neither do I," Lori said. She was still half ducked under the table. The girls were on the ground between her and the stroller.

The man looked down at two guns pointed at him. He hesitantly put the gun down on the floor. Callen took the gun and cuffed him. Lori had already called it in so they heard the sirens in the background. The cops took him away and took everybody's statement and they thank Callen and Lori for their help. The woman was taken to the hospital; she was going to make it.

"The girls okay honey?" Callen asked.

"Yeah they're fine," Lori said as she picked the girls back up and placed them in their stroller.

"Come one let's go home." They didn't have to pay for anything. It was on the house.

They went home and put the girls in the cribs for a little nap.

"Well that was an exciting morning," Lori said.

"Yeah it was. By the way, why did you aim your gun at him too? I told you to stay there with the girls."

"The girls were safe, I made sure of that. They were in no way in harm's way."

"Alright then."

…

It was just 3 months before Lori and Callen were getting married. Everything was going according to plan. They were going over the details of the ceremony, which readings they wanted to have and when they wanted to have toasts. They finished their schedule for the day and sent it to the vendor. Lori made some nice menu cards and place setting cards on the computer and printed them out.

"I can't believe in just 3 months we'll be husband and wife," Callen said as he pulled Lori onto his lap.

"I know, me neither. I can't wait. I wanna call myself your wife," Lori said and she gave him a kiss.

"And I wanna call myself your husband. I can't wait. I wanna see you walk down the aisle in your beautiful wedding dress."

"I'm sure you're gonna like the wedding dress I'm gonna wear."

"Can you give me a little hint, please?"

"Nope."

"Come on a little hint."

"Alright, it matches your suit."

"That I knew, otherwise Kensi wouldn't have gone with me to buy it."

"Well that's all you're gonna get for now. You'll just have to wait. And I bought something just a nice to wear on our wedding night."

"I like the sound of that," Callen said and he kissed her neck. "And picture me taking it off of you when we get to our room."

"Hmmmmmmm," Lori moaned, unable to speak at the moment as Callen found her pulse point.

He pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him, her knees on each side of him, without breaking the kiss to her neck. He loved the effect he had on her just by kissing her neck. His hands were on her thighs.

"G…..," Lori tried to speak as pleasure flowed through her body. "You've…..," Callen kissed her a little harder and gently nibbled on her skin. "Got…to….stop."

"Why?" Callen smirked against her skin. "Looks like you're enjoying it though."

"If you don't….stop….we'll end…up making….love here…..on the….couch," Lori tried to speak as she felt more pleasure going straight between her legs.

"That's alright. Cus I wanna have you. I _need _you."

Unable to control herself anymore, Lori pulled his head up to hers and gave him a passionate and hungry kiss. Before they knew it they were both naked and Lori had positioned herself up on Callen and they were joined. They made very sweet and passionate love there on the couch.

After making love they went to get a shower together and they made love again under the shower. They went back to the wedding plans. At 11pm they went to bed and they made love again before going to sleep.

"Good morning Lori," Callen said.

"Good morning G," Lori said. They were both still naked from last night and Lori was lying on Callen's chest. "You slept well?"

"Very well. You?'

"Me too. Last night was amazing."

"Yeah it totally was. I love making love to you."

"I felt that last night. You're always so amazing."

"Glad you like it, cus I plan to make love to you many times in the future."

"I'm looking forward to that," Lori said and she lifted her head up and gave Callen a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," Callen said and he gave her another kiss.

Just as he kissed her the girls started crying. Lori got herself dressed and went to get the girls. Callen got dressed too and made them some breakfast. Lori got the girls dressed and she put them in their chairs at the kitchen table. The girls were now 6 months old. They had really grown already and they started to crawl a bit through the house. Callen and Lori loved watching them moved through the house, but they had to make sure to not leave anything within their reach. The girls had a habit of grabbing everything within their reach.

They fed the girls and had breakfast themselves. Since it was Saturday they didn't have to go to the office. Callen got the girls cleaned up and took them to the living room where he placed them down at their play mats. He watched them play while Lori cleaned up in the kitchen. Lori came out of the kitchen and saw that Myra was trying to crawl.

"Come on Myra, come to mommy," Lori said as she sat down on her knees on the floor.

Callen grabbed the video camera and started recording. Myra started to move forward slowly. Slowly she got closer and closer to Lori. Julie saw her sister crawling and she tried to crawl too. She was bouncing back and forth trying to move but eventually she started to crawl too.

"There's a good girl," Lori said as she picked up Myra after she crawled towards Lori. "Where's daddy? Look at daddy." Myra lifted her little hand towards Callen and giggled a bit. "What's daddy doing? Wanna wave to daddy?" Lori lifted her hand towards Callen and waved at him.

In the meantime Julie had crawled over to Lori as well. Lori picked her up too. Callen filmed them as Lori held both girls. She fell backwards with the two girls on her chest before putting the girls back on the ground. Julie crawled over to Callen. Callen filmed her as she saw closer to him until she was at his feet.

"Hey, Julie," Callen said as he pointed the camera at her. Julie tried to grab the camera but Callen was faster. "That's not for you, sweetie. Here's your little teddy bear."

They stayed there for a little while before the girls were getting a bit grumpy. So they put them in their playpens.

"Just look at them, they are so cute," Callen said.

"Yeah they most certainly are."

Callen sat down on the couch and watched some TV while keeping an eye on the girls while Lori went to do some housekeeping. They had a quiet morning. In the afternoon they took the girls down to the park. It was a nice sunny day in February. They put the girls in the baby swings, seesaws and on the little slide. The girls were having fun. Lori and Callen took turns playing with them while the other one filmed. They stayed in the park for a couple of hours before going home. The girls had fallen asleep in the stroller on the way back. They carefully lifted them out of the stroller and put them in their cribs and went back to the living room.

"It's so cute watching them play like that and to see the smiles on their faces," Lori said.

"Yeah it totally is. I'm really happy we have these two beautiful girls," Callen said as he pulled Lori closer to him. "And I'm really happy to have you." Callen gave Lori a kiss.

"I'm happy to have you and the girls too honey. We're a cute little family."

"Yeah that we are, a family."

Callen was truly happy he had a family now. A woman who he loved more than anything and two little twin girls who meant the world to him. He felt truly blessed to have the 3 of them.

….

Lori was working 3 days a week. The other 2 days she was at home with the girls. Emily was really doing a great job with the girls. The girls loved her. Callen and Lori were really glad they had her to take care of the girls. Lori was fully recovered to go back out into the field again.

Lori and Callen had to go undercover together as a married couple.

"Alright, here are your ID's. Lori, you'll be Kaley Jenkins, housewife. Callen, you'll be Brian Jenkins, you're working at Robinson Global as a security guard. You're backstopping is complete, you're good to go. All the information is on your phones," Eric said.

"Thanks Eric," Callen said. "You good to go Lori?"

"Yeah I'm good. I just hope I won't last too long. I'll miss the girls too much."

"Yeah me too. You sure everything is settled with Emily?"

"Yeah, she would stay at our house for as long as we're gone."

"Alright then. We're good to go."

Callen and Lori took a Mercedes to their cover house. It was a nice big house in suburbia. They were next door neighbors to Mike and Alicia Robinson, Mike was the owner of Robinson Global. Robinson Global was believed to be used as a front for a home grown terrorist organization. Mike was suspected to be the head of the organization, they didn't know if his wife was involved too.

Lori and Callen were getting settled into their house when the doorbell rang. Lori went to open it.

"Hi, I'm Alicia Robinson I live next door. I just wanted to welcome you into the neighborhood."

"Hi, thank you. I'm Kaley Jenkins," Lori said and she shook Alicia's hand. "Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

"Sure, I'd like to. Unless I'm interrupting you from your unpacking."

"No, it's fine. We're almost done here."

"Honey, we've got company," Lori said as she walked into the kitchen where Callen was.

"Hi, I'm Brian Jenkins," Callen said as he shook her hand.

"Hi, Alicia Robinson."

"Nice to meet you."

"So, how long have you been married?" Alicia said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"We've been married for almost a year now," Lori said. "How about you and your husband?"

"Almost 10 years."

"That's nice. Got any kids?"

"No, my husband and I aren't fortunate enough to have them."

"I'm sorry."

"What about you two? Any babies in the future?"

"Perhaps, we'll see when and if it happens," Lori said and she glanced over to Callen. She could see that Callen had Myra and Julie on his mind too.

"That's nice. I hope you two get one."

"Thanks. What do you do for a living?"

"I work at my husband's company. I'm his secretary. What about you?"

"I'm a housewife and I work from home, I'm a musician, well at least I try to be. And Brian actually starts to work at your husband's company tomorrow as a security guard."

"That's nice. Well thank you for the coffee, I got to get going. It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too," Lori said as she walked Alicia to the front door.

"I'll see you around."

"Yeah see ya."

They got settled by the time it was dinner time. They had a nice dinner and watched some TV before going to bed.

"Why don't we break in this bed?" Callen said as he rolled on top of Lori and he kissed her.

"Mmmm, I like the way you think."

Callen kissed her again before he moved down to her neck. Clothes were discarded and thrown across the room. They made love 3 times before they fell asleep content in each other's arms. Lori woke up before Callen and she went to get a shower.

"Good morning my wife," Callen said as he came into the kitchen. He hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning my husband. Ready for your first day at work?"

"Yep I am. I'll see what I can find out there. You try to place a bug in their home, I'll try to do it at the office."

"Alright. You have a good day," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

"I will, you too. Bye."

"Bye," Callen said and he walked out of the front door to his car. As he was about to get in Lori came out of the house.

"Honey, you forgot your coffee," Lori said as she walked up to Callen.

"Thank you honey." Callen grabbed the coffee and gave Lori a kiss on her cheek. Lori pulled him back and gave him another kiss.

"Bye honey."

"Bye honey."

Lori went back inside and Callen drove to work. Lori had taken her guitar with her so she started to play some music. Around 11am she wandered over to the Robinson's house. She knocked on the door, of course no one answered so she walked around the back. When she saw that it was clear she got her lock pick.

"Eric, can you see if they got and alarm system?" Lori asked through the com.

"They got an alarm system," Eric said.

"Can you deactivate it remotely?"

"One sec…..You're good to go."

"Thanks Eric."

Lori picked the lock and went inside. She looked around the house for anything suspicious. She didn't find anything. She placed a camera and an audio bug in the living room, in the kitchen and in the dining room. She also placed one in Mike's office. She found his laptop there and copied his drive.

"Getting audio and visual, Eric?"

"Loud and clear, you're good to go."

"I'm out Eric, you can put the alarm back on."

"All done."

"Thanks. I'm gonna send you the drive from Mike's laptop as soon as I'm back at the house."

"Got it. Nell and I will look through it."

"Thanks Eric."

Lori went back to the house and uploaded Mike's drive into the system. The rest of the day she did some housework. When Callen came home from work she was cooking dinner.

"Hey Kaley, I'm home," Callen said as he stepped through the door.

"Hey Brian, I'm in the kitchen."

"Hey honey," Callen said as he walked into the kitchen and gave Lori a kiss.

"Hey honey, how was your day?"

"My day was fine. There's definitely something illegal going on down there."

"Did you manage to plant the bugs yet?"

"No, not yet. He was in his office the whole day and when he wasn't he asked me to go with him. How about you?"

"The house is successfully bugged."

"Good work."

"I also found a laptop. So I copied the drive and sent it to Eric and Nell."

"That's good. Let's hope there's something there. I know it's only been a day but I miss the girls."

"Yeah I miss them too. I hope we can wrap this case up soon."

"Yeah me too. But at least we still have each other," Callen said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Yes we do," Lori said and she kissed Callen.

It took them about 2 days to finally get the information they wanted. They arrested Mike and everyone in his firm that was part of the terrorist organization. Mike's wife wasn't arrested. Lori had questioned her thoroughly and she had no idea what her husband was doing.

Callen and Lori wrapped the case up and went back to the office.

"Good work you two," Hetty said as they walked back into the office.

"Thanks Hetty."

"Well I'm sure you two are dying to see your two little girls, so I'm letting you go home. You can finish the reports in the morning."

"Thank you Hetty," Callen said with a smile on his face.

Lori and Callen grabbed their bags and went home.

"Hey Emily," Lori said as she walked into the house.

"Hey guys, welcome back. Case solved?" Emily said.

"Yes case solved. How are the girls?" Lori asked as she walked over to the playpens.

"They are very well. They were two little angels while you were gone. They cried a little more than usually though, but that was probably cus they missed you. But other than that they were very sweet."

"Good to hear," Lori said and she picked up the girls. "Hey there my little sweeties, mommy missed you." Lori gave both girls a kiss.

"Thank you for staying here for the last couple of days," Callen said.

"It's my pleasure. The job sometimes gets in the way of family life."

"Yeah sometimes it does. Thank you again. We should probably let you go home now. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah see you tomorrow," Emily said and she left.

"Look who's there," Lori said and she shifted the babies so they face Callen. "Is that daddy?"

"Hey there my little girls. Daddy missed you," Callen said and he gave both girls a kiss. He took Myra from Lori and they sat down on the couch together. "It's good to be back at home again."

"Yeah it is. Although pretending to be married to you was kinda nice too. A little test run before we actually get married. "

"Yeah it was nice. It was nice I could call you my wife, even if it was undercover. But in a few months I'll be able to say that for real. Then you'll be my wife."

"And you'll be my husband," Lori said and she gave Callen a kiss.

They sat there a little longer with the girls in their arms. The girls were smiling up at them. They were happy their mommy and daddy were home again. They enjoyed the girls company for the rest of the day and went back to the office the next morning to finish their reports.

…..

"Be good girls to mommy today," Callen said and he gave both girls a kiss. "Bye honey, I'll see you later." Callen gave Lori a kiss too.

"Have a good day honey. Be careful and stay safe."

"I will. See ya," Callen said and he gave Lori one more kiss before going to work.

"Morning guys," Callen said as he walked into the bullpen.

"Morning," Sam, Kensi and Deeks replied.

Callen sat behind his laptop and went through his emails. His eyes froze and stared at the screen as he saw the attachments in the email. It were surveillance pictures of Lori and the girls.


	25. Chapter 25

"G?" Sam asked as he saw his partner staring at the screen.

Without saying anything he walked upstairs, leaving the others sitting there without a clue what was going on.

"Eric, can you trace the last email I got?" Callen asked in a demanding tone.

"Of course, something going on?" Eric asked.

"Just do it, let me know when you find something," Callen said and he walked back downstairs.

"What was that all about?" Nell asked once Callen was gone.

"I have no idea."

Callen walked straight past the bullpen and went outside. He got in his car and went home. He ignored Sam when he called after him.

"Where's Mr. Callen going?" Hetty asked.

"I have no idea. I believe something on his screen spooked him," Sam answered.

"I think I know why," Eric said as he appeared on top.

The agents followed him into OPS.

"What's up Eric?" Sam asked, eager to know what was bothering his partner.

"Callen asked me to trace his last email. We opened his email to see which one it was and then we saw these," Eric said as he put the pictures up on the screen.

"Oh my god," Kensi said when she saw the pictures.

"Eric, find out everything you can about this. Where the email came from, when the pictures were taken, everything," Sam said.

…

"G? What are you doing home so early?" Lori asked when Callen walked through the door.

"Something came up at work. I need to take you and the girls someplace safe."

"G, what's going on? Why are you acting so weird?"

"I'll tell you later, right now I need you to pack a bag and take you somewhere safe."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

"Someone has been watching you."

"What?"

"They sent me the pictures this morning in my email. So I need to take you 3 somewhere safe in case they followed you here."

"Fine, I'll get some stuff. Would you back up some stuff for the girls?"

30 minutes later Lori and the girls were at the boatshed.

"G, what the hell is going on? Who's following me?"

"I have no idea. I told Eric to trace it so I'm sure the others already know about it."

"That's right, Mr. Callen," Hetty voice sounded through the room. They looked around and saw Hetty on the screen. "What's going on? Has yours or Ms. Carter's identity been compromised?"

"I don't know Hetty. All I know is someone has been taking pictures of Lori and the girls so I need to keep them safe."

"I understand Mr. Callen, but next time don't walk off like that," Hetty said leaving no room for argument and Callen nodded. "Now Ms. Carter, do you have any idea who's been following you?'

"No I don't have a clue. Where were the pictures taken?" Lori said.

"Mr. Beale, pull up the pictures please," Hetty asked and Lori saw the pictures on the screen.

"Those two at the top were taken at the park."

"You know when?" Callen asked.

"Probably last week."

"And the others?"

"Uhm the others at the mall or just around LA when I was walking the girls."

"You managed to trace the email Eric?" Callen asked.

"Still searching," Eric replied.

"Keep searching. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Alright, we'll call you when we have something new," Eric said and he disconnected the call.

"Why would someone be targeting me?"

"Probably to get to me."

"That's gonna be a long list to go through then, you've made quite some enemies over the years."

"Yeah I know. You sure you didn't notice somebody following you?"

"Yeah I'm sure. If I had noticed I would've told you."

"So he's probably a pro then, could be a hired gun."

"Could be. Do you have any idea who would know about me and the girls?"

"No idea, someone could've done their homework."

"Someone like who?"

"I don't know. It could be anyone I guess. Maybe Eric has found something more on the email."

At that moment Sam, Deeks and Kensi walked through the door. Callen had his hand ready on his gun.

"It's only us G," Sam said.

"You got something?"

"Eric's still tracing the email and analyzing the pictures. Do you have any idea who did this?"

"It could be anyone, I have absolutely no clue," Callen said when Eric's face popped up on screen.

"Hey guys," Eric said.

"Hey Eric, did you find something?"

"I got a trace on the email. It was sent from a café on Pico."

"Does that café have security cams?"

"Already checked and came up with this," Eric answered and he played the video.

There was only one guy in the café who was on a laptop at the moment the email was sent.

"Can you get a clear shot from his face Eric?" Callen asked.

"Not from the camera in the café, but when he left I got him on a traffic camera, ran it through facial reg and came up with this guy," Eric replied as he put a picture up on the screen. "Brian Rogers."

"What do you know about him Eric?"

"He's an American citizen, he's a photographer. He spent some time in Romania 2 months ago. His father owns a PI office here in LA. Address is on your phones."

"Thanks Eric. You got a home address for him too?"

"Yep, it's on your phones too."

"Thanks Eric. We'll check them out," Callen said and Eric disconnected the call. "Kensi, Deeks you check his father's company."

"Okay," Kensi said and she and Deeks left.

Callen looked at Lori. Lori saw the look in his eyes.

"It's okay G, you can go with Sam. I'll be fine," Lori said.

"I don't wanna leave you here alone, unprotected."

"I'll be fine G. I've got my gun. Beside this place is safe."

"I know but still…"

"I'll be fine honey," Lori said and she cupped his face in her hands and gave him a kiss. "I'll be fine honey."

"Alright. I've you need me, I'll just be a phone call away."

"I know, but I'll be fine. Just find out who's doing this."

"I will." Callen gave her one more kiss before he left.

Lori picked the girls up and sat down on the couch.

"Don't worry, daddy will find out what's going on and we can go home. Everything will be fine."

…

20 minutes later Callen and Sam were at his house. They knocked but no one answered. Callen grabbed his lock pick and picked the lock. The cleared the place. No one was there.

"G, look at this," Sam called from one of the rooms. Callen stepped into the room and he couldn't believe what he saw. There were a lot of pictures of Lori and the girls on the walls. "Looks like he's following Lori for some time now."

"This is just creepy," Callen said as he looked at the pictures.

They looked through all the pictures he had. A little later they heard someone coming in. Guns ready they quietly moved towards the door. They saw Rogers walking into the apartment.

"Federal agents! Hold it right there!" Callen said.

As soon as Rogers saw them he made a run for it. Callen and Sam ran after him. A little later Callen cut him off. He tried to run the other way but there was Sam. Sam pushed him against the wall and cuffed him.

"I didn't do anything," Rogers said.

"Oh no, then why did you run?" Sam asked.

Callen and Sam took him to the boatshed and put him in the interrogation room.

"Is that him?" Lori asked when they walked in.

"Yeah it's him. We found a lot of pictures of you and the girls there so he's definitely the guy we're looking for."

"That's just creepy," Lori said as a shiver ran down her spine. "You know who sent him?"

"Not yet, but I'm gonna find out," Callen answered and he walked to the interrogation room.

"What am I doing here?" Rogers asked.

"Who hired you to take those pictures?" Callen asked angrily.

"What pictures?"

"Don't play dumb with me. The pictures you had all over your apartment. These," Callen said as he threw some pictures on the table. "Why were you following her?!" Rogers kept quiet. "Why?!"

"I want a lawyer."

"You want a lawyer huh?" Callen replied. He picked up Rogers by his collar and pushed him against the wall. "You're not getting a lawyer and you're gonna tell us who hired you to take these pictures!" Callen said, letting his anger get the best of him.

"G, take it easy. Let him go," Sam tried to reason with his partner.

Callen let him go and walked out of interrogation.

"You okay G?" Lori asked.

"That son of a bitch asked for a lawyer."

"Language G."

"Sorry. I'm just angry at this whole situation."

"I know honey, I know," Lori said as she stepped closer to Callen at put her arms around his neck. "I know you're angry, I'm angry too. Just try to control your anger and focus on finding who did this. You can do that?"

"Yeah I think so. It's just…. I don't want anything to happen to you or the girls."

"I know honey. But we're safe here. You just do what you're good at and find out who did this."

"Alright," Callen replied and he gave Lori a kiss before he stepped into interrogation again.

"You good G?" Sam asked.

"Yeah I'm good. Who told you to take these pictures?"

"I'm not saying another word to you without my lawyer."

"You're not getting a lawyer. You see, what you did falls under the terrorist law and they don't have a right for a lawyer," Callen told him, hoping he would buy it.

"Terrorist law? I'm not a terrorist."

"That woman you were spying on is a federal agent. So you're threatening a federal agent. That falls under the terrorist law."

"A federal agent? I swear I didn't know."

"She is. Now do you wanna tell us who hired you?"

"I don't know. He said he knew me from when I was in Romania. He contacted me through my father's company. I sometimes do photography work for my dad."

"Do you remember anything about him? His name, what he looked like?"

"No, nothing. All business was done electronically. I've met quite some people when I was in Romania. Don't remember everyone of done."

"Does your dad have any record of this?"

"I think so. I don't know."

"What was the order about?"

"He wanted me to take some pictures of her and he gave me an email address. He wanted me to send the pictures via the email to him."

"Well, that him is me," Callen said and Rogers looked at him shocked.

"I honestly had no idea. I've never seen the two of you before. He just wanted me to make some pictures. I didn't think it could hurt. He paid a lot of money."

"Sit tight," Callen said and he and Sam walked out of the room. "There's only one I can think of that would do this."

"But we got rid of them all," Sam replied.

"Maybe not."

"Who are you talking about?" Lori asked.

"Comescu," Callen answered her.

"Comescu? Isn't that the family who wanted you dead cus of some ancient blood feud?"

"Yep that's the one. We thought we killed them all when we went to Romania and then killed Dracul a little later, but maybe there's still someone out there."

"Maybe Kensi and Deeks found something at the office," Sam said and Callen dialed Eric.

"Hey guys," Eric said as his face popped up on the screen.

"Hey Eric, you found something or heard anything from Kensi and Deeks?" Callen asked.

"Kensi and Deeks are on the way back to the office. Nell and I are looking through the company's information."

"Try to look for anything from Romania, search for CF&Q limited."

"You think the Comescu's are involved, Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as she appeared on the screen.

"Yes I think so. Rogers said it was someone from Romania. The only one in Romania I can think of who would do this is a Comescu."

"Didn't you get them all when you went to Romania?" Eric asked.

"We thought so, but maybe there's still a nephew or something out there."

"I'll search for that, let you know what I find."

"Thanks Eric," Callen spoke and disconnected the video.

"You really thing one of the Comescu's is behind this?" Lori asked.

"It could be. If one of them is still alive they could want payback." Callen saw the look in Lori's eyes. "Don't worry honey. Everything's gonna be alright. I'll get whoever is behind this. Don't worry." Callen pulled Lori in for a hug and gave her a kiss on her head. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you and the girls are safe."

"What about you? If it's really a Comescu he might want you dead."

"I'll be fine honey, don't worry," Callen replied and he lifted her head and gave her a kiss.

At that moment Julie started crying. Callen went to pick her up.

"It's okay sweetie. Daddy's gonna make sure everything will be alright. No one is gonna hurt you, your sister or mommy," Callen said and he gave Julie a kiss on her head.

"You got their travel beds honey?" Lori asked as she noticed Julie was getting sleepy.

"Yeah they're in the car, I'll go get them," Callen answered as he handed Julie to Lori.

They set up the travel beds at the other end of the boatshed were it was a little bit quieter, but still close enough so they could keep an eye on them. They put both girls in there so they could get some sleep.

Callen hated waiting around for something to come up. He wanted to find whoever it was who was taking pictures of Lori and the girls. He was so angry at whoever did that, that he felt he could strangle them with bare hands.

About 2 hours later they finally had something.

"Hey guys," Eric said as his face popped up on screen.

"Hey Eric, did you find something?" Callen asked.

"Yeah, we looked through his financials and came up with a payment for 50.000 dollar from CF&Q limited."

"So it is a Comescu?" Lori asked.

"Yes it looks like that."

"Do you know who's running in now? I thought we ended the family business when we took them out," Callen said.

"I traced the payment and it originated from right here in LA."

"He's here in LA?" Lori asked.

"At the time of the payment yes and we haven't found anything that suggests he left LA."

"Do you know who's behind it and where he is?" Callen asked.

"Nell's looking into that."

"Yes and I may have found something," Nell spoke as she moved into the frame.

"What is it Nell?" Callen asked.

"I did some more digging into the Comescu family and into CF&Q and I came up with this name," Nell answered as she put a picture up on the screen.

"Marku Comescu," Callen spoke as the picture showed up on the screen.

"He's a nephew. He started CF&Q again, with the intention to legalize it. According to TCA he's been in LA for the last few months, trying to set up business here."

"Until he found me."

"It seems that way yeah."

"Do you have an address on him or something?" Callen asked, his face getting red with anger.

"Yeah the address to his office building and an address for a warehouse, it's on your phones."

"Thanks. Send Kensi and Deeks to the office, we'll go check out the warehouse."

"Will do," Eric told him and he disconnected the call.

"You'll be okay here honey?"

"I'll be fine G. Don't worry about me. Just be careful and get this guy."

"I will," Callen replied and he gave her a kiss before he left.

Another agent was there as well to keep an eye on Rogers.

15 minutes later Callen and Sam were at the warehouse. It looked abandoned.

"Keep your eyes open Sam," Callen said.

"I know, you too. I don't plan on losing you to a Comescu."

"Don't worry Sam, I hadn't planned on that either."

"Good."

They went into the warehouse and cleared every room. Nobody was there. They looked around to see if they could find anything before they went back to the boatshed.

…

"The girls are asleep, I'm just gonna step outside to get some fresh air," Lori told the agent.

"Alright."

Lori walked outside and just looked out over the marina. She really hoped this was over soon and that Callen would stay safe. She heard a car pulling up. She thought it were Callen and Sam so she walked around to the parking lot. It weren't Callen and Sam. Some goons came at her. She tried to fight them off. She had fought off some but she didn't see someone walking up behind her. He smacked her on her head and Lori was knocked out. One of the men lifted her over his shoulder and carried her to the van.

Just at that moment Callen and Sam arrived back at the boatshed.

"Sam, they've got Lori!"

Sam quickly stopped the car and he and Callen got out.

"Federal Agents! Freeze!" Callen yelled raising his weapon at them.

They quickly had to dodge some bullets that were flying their way. One of the men loaded Lori into the van while the other kept shooting at them. The man shot out Sam's tires and they drove off. Callen quickly called Eric.

"Eric, I've got a license plate for you. 6 – Charlie – Peter – Richard – 7 – 9 – 0. They've got Lori."

"On it Callen."

Callen hang up at quickly went inside the boatshed to check on Julie and Myra. He was relieved when he saw that they were peacefully asleep in their beds.

"Where were you? You were supposed to keep an eye on her," Callen yelled at the other agent and almost launched at him but Sam stopped him.

"Easy G. This doesn't solve anything. And you're scaring your girls." Sam tried to reason with him.

Callen moved away. The girls had started crying when Callen yelled. Callen went to pick them up.

"It's okay. Daddy didn't mean to wake you. Everything will be fine. Daddy will get mommy back. Don't you worry about that. Daddy will do everything to get mommy back."

Callen rocked till they calmed down.

"You good G?"

"Yeah I'm good. Sorry Jack."

"It's okay. I understand. I shouldn't have let her go out."

Callen placed the girls in their car seats and packed up their stuff before he and Sam went back to the office.

"Mr. Callen,…" Hetty started when Callen walked into the office.

"Hetty don't start, I know I'm not supposed to bring Myra and Julie over but I'm not leaving them out of my sight now."

"It's fine Mr. Callen. What is was going to ask if you're still alright to work this case?"

"I'm fine Hetty. I need to find these guys and Lori," Callen said and he walked upstairs. "Anything new?" He asked as he put the girls on the table.

"I was tracking the van but I lost it in traffic. Got kaleidoscope looking for it," Eric said.

"What did Kensi and Deeks find out?"

"They said Comescu wasn't there. That he was away on a business lunch. So Kensi and Deeks are at the restaurant now. They're keeping an eye on him," Nell said.

"Great. Let me know when you have something," Callen told them and he grabbed the girls and walked back down to the bullpen.

He put the car seats down on his desk and went to warm up 2 bottles of milk since the girls had started crying again.

"You need a hand G?" Sam asked when Callen returned with 2 bottles.

"Thanks Sam," Callen answered and he handed 1 bottle to Sam.

They fed and burped the girls. Callen took Myra from Sam and sat down on the couch with both girls. Sam felt bad for his partner. He couldn't imagine what he would do if something like this happened to Michelle.

….

Lori woke up a little later in a dark room. She was tied to a chair. She didn't recognize where she was. The last thing she remembered was that some men walked up to her. Lori immediately thought about the girls. They were still at the boatshed. She hoped that Callen already had noticed she was gone and that he would take care of the girls.

A little later a man walked into the room. She recognized him. It was Marku Comescu.

"What do you want?" Lori spat out at him.

"I want your boyfriend, Agent Callen."

"I don't know an Agent Callen."

"Liar," Comescu said after he struck her in the face. "I know you're his girlfriend. You do have two beautiful daughters."

"Leave them out of this!"

"Oh I don't plan to harm them. I just want your boyfriend."

"He knows about you already. He's on to you. He'll come here to get me."

"I'm counting on it," Comescu said and he left the room.

….

It felt like an eternity to Callen before Eric and Nell had found something.

"We've tracked the car Lori was taken in and Kensi and Deeks just followed Comescu to this location. Address is on your phone," Eric said.

"Thanks Eric."

Callen took the girls to Hetty's office.

"Hetty, could you look after them please while I go get Lori?"

"Sure, Mr. Callen. Just bring Ms. Carter back safe."

Callen nodded and he and Sam went to the armory to gear up.

…

"What have you got?" Callen asked as they met up with Kensi and Deeks.

"Comescu moved in with 2 bodyguards," Kensi said.

"Including the 3 that took Lori would make that 5 bodyguards, plus Comescu. Have you spotted Lori yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Alright. Kensi, Deeks you move in from the back, Sam and I will take the front. Keep an eye out for Lori. If you see Comescu, by all means shoot him."

They all nodded and breached.

….

Comescu heard the gunfire in the distance.

"Looks like your boyfriend is here," Comescu said with a sick smile and he left the room.

Lori's mouth was taped so she couldn't scream.

Callen, Sam, Kensi and Deeks cleared all the rooms and shot some bodyguards while doing that. Callen and Sam each took a direction of their end of the warehouse.

"Lori," Callen said when he found her. He quickly checked if it was safe before he went to untie her. Lori was shaking her head and mumbling. Callen removed the tape from her mouth.

"G, no. It's a trap. Watch out!" Lori yelled but it was too late.

The next thing she knew Callen was lying unconscious on the floor.


	26. Chapter 26

"You sick son of a bitch. The others are here and they'll fine us," Lori spat out once she saw Comescu.

"Maybe they will. But will they be here in time to save you," Comescu said as he raised his gun towards Callen, who was still lying on the floor, out cold.

"No!" Lori yelled as she was fighting her restrains.

At the moment Comescu wanted to pull the trigger Lori heard a gunshot and Comescu fell down on the floor. She looked up and saw Sam there, followed by Kensi and Deeks. Kensi and Deeks shot the other two guys. Sam went to check on his partner while Kensi untied Lori and Deeks checked the guys.

"You okay Lori?" Kensi asked.

"Yeah I'm good thanks."

Sam tried to wake his partner up. A little later Callen came too. He was still a bit groggy.

"Sam."

"It's okay G. Comescu is gone."

"Lori?"

"It's okay honey, I'm here," Lori said as she crouched down next to Callen.

Callen pulled her in for a hug. "Thank god you're okay. I was so worried about you."

"I'm fine G. Don't worry. You good?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little headache."

Callen looked up a saw Comescu's lifeless body lying there.

"It's over G. He's not coming after us again," Lori said.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Where are the girls?"

"They are at the office. After you were taken I didn't let them out of my sight. I asked Hetty to look after them while we went to rescue you."

They wrapped up there and went back to the office. Lori went straight to Hetty's office to see her little girls. She picked them up from their car seats.

"Hey there my little sweeties, mommy's glad to be back again."

"Don't worry Ms. Carter. They are fine. Mr. Callen took good care of them," Hetty said.

"Thank you for looking after them Hetty."

"You're welcome. Everything alright with you?"

"Yes I'm fine. G's got a little concussion but he should be fine."

"Alright. I suggest you grab your stuff and go home for the day, take Mr. Callen with you."

"Thank you Hetty."

They packed up their stuff and went home. Lori put the girls in their playpens.

"I'm glad your back save and sound," Callen said as he hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm glad to be back again too. I can't believe it was a Comescu coming after you."

"Yeah me neither."

They had a relaxing rest of the day and played with the girls. Lori was fast asleep by the time she went to bed. Callen couldn't really sleep. He kept thinking about what happened today. He wouldn't have forgiven himself if something happened to Lori or the girls because of him. After lying in the bed for about 2 hours without sleeping Callen went out and went to the girls' room. He sat down in the rocking chair and just watched the girls sleeping.

A little later Lori woke up and she noticed Callen wasn't in bed anymore. She went out to look for him and she found him in the girls' room.

"Hey, here you are," Lori said with a low voice so she wouldn't wake up the girls.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Something bothering you honey?" Lori asked as she sat down on Callen's lap.

"I just keep thinking about today. What if something happened to you or the girls?"

"Nothing happened to us honey. We are all safe and sound."

"I know, but what if next time I won't be able to get there in time. What if something happens to you 3 because of me?"

"Oh honey," Lori said as she placed a hand on Callen's cheek. "You can't think like that honey."

"I'm just worried something's gonna happen to you 3 because of me. The best way to get to me is through you 3. I don't want to see any of you hurt because of me."

"Oh G," Lori replied and gave Callen a kiss. "Nothing is gonna happen to us. We'll be fine. I can protect myself and the girls too. And the girls have the best special agent as their father who will do anything to protect them, so we'll be alright."

Callen smiled and Lori kissed him. Callen kissed her back and picked her up. He carried her to their room while kissing her. He laid her down on the bed and they made love.

….

It was the beginning of March, which meant their wedding was just 2 months away. Lori just hoped Callen wouldn't be away on a case on their wedding day. Almost everything of their wedding was already taken care of. They just needed to go over the last details.

"Hey honey, have you given the honeymoon any more thought?" Lori asked.

"I would really like to, but I don't know if I can miss the girls that long."

"Yeah I know. That's gonna be hard. But I would like it, just the two of us. And it doesn't have to be long, just like 4 nights or something."

"What about the girls then?"

"I'm sure we can find someone who will look after them."

"Alright. I think it might be nice. Just a little you and me time without the girls there."

"Alright, on one condition."

"And that is?"

"You let me pick the honeymoon destination and you'll have to wait to see where we are going till our honeymoon."

"Seriously?"

"Yes I wanna surprise you."

"Alright."

"And if you're nice I may give you some hints," Lori said with a cheeky smile.

"Hmm I'd like that," Callen replied and he gave her a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. I can't wait to be your wife."

"And I can't wait to be your husband."

…..

Callen and Lori were packing up their stuff for the weekend to go home.

"Hand your bag to Callen Lori, you're coming with us," Kensi told her.

"Why? What's going on?" Lori asked confused.

"We're gonna have a nice girls night out."

"A bachelorette party? You didn't?"

"Oh yes we did," Nell answered her.

"Come on Lori," Kensi said as she ushered her to the door. "Bye Callen. You'll have her back later tonight."

"Bye G," Lori said.

"Have a good time."

"Will do."

Callen packed up the rest of his stuff and went home.

"It's just you?" Emily asked when Callen walked into the door even though she knew Lori had her bachelorette party.

"Yep, the girls took Lori out for her bachelorette party."

"Ah that's nice. Well if you don't mind I have to go, got plans tonight."

"Sure. How were the girls?"

"They were very sweet today. They slept a little in the afternoon."

"That's good. Have a nice weekend. I'll see you Wednesday."

"Yep see you Wednesday, Bye."

Emily left and quickly went home to change and went to Kensi's house.

"You guys, you didn't have to do this," Lori said.

"It's part of getting married Lori," Michelle said.

"Hope you didn't plan anything too crazy."

"You'll see. First put this one," Nell said as she handed her a tiara with a veil on it.

Lori had to laugh but she put it on. They had ordered pizza. After they had finished their pizzas they went out.

"Ride's here," Kensi said and all the girls went outside on into the limo.

The driver took them downtown. Once the car stopped all the girls got out. Kensi lead the girls into a club. Lori was shocked when she entered the club.

"You didn't?"

"Oh yeah we did. In a while you'll be a married woman so enjoy it while you're single," Kensi answered her.

A woman let them to their table right in front of the stage. Lori was seated at the seat closest to the stage. A little later some men came out and they started dancing and stripping until they were only left in their underwear. One of the men came close to their table and started stripping in front of Lori.

"Go ahead Lori. Put a dollar in his pants," Kensi cheered her on.

Lori took a dollar and put it in his pants pocket. Lori felt a bit weird by all of this, but she had a good time nevertheless. One of the strippers gave Lori a private dance. They stayed at the club till 11pm before they went back to Kensi's.

"Alright, who wants to play truth or dare?" Nell proposed. The others all nodded. "Alright as the bride you get to go first Lori, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Lori answered.

"How old were you when you did it for the first time?"

"22."

..

"Lori, truth or dare?" Nell asked.

"Truth."

"How's Callen in bed?" Lori was shocked by this question. She never really talked about her love life, except sometimes with her sister. "Come on, he can't be that bad."

"Oh no, he's not bad at all. He's amazing actually," Lori said and she turned a bit red.

"Don't be shy Lori. There's no need to be embarrassed."

"It's just weird talking about my sex life with G to you guys."

"Well that's what truth or dare is about, asking awkward questions."

They stayed at Kensi's a little longer and they were all pretty drunk by the time they went home. They all took a cab and went home. It was just past 2am when Lori stumbled into the house. Callen woke up when Lori stumbled into the bed room.

"Hey honey," Lori said with a cheeky smile as she got into the bed and straddled him.

Callen immediately noticed she was drunk. "You had a good time?"

"Yeah a very good time. And the night is not over yet," Lori answered and she kissed him.

Callen tasted the alcohol as she kissed him and he felt Lori was very turned on. He turned her around and kissed her back. Just seeing her like this turned him on too. Lori took their clothes off as fast as possible. She turned Callen back around on his back. In one swift movement Lori pushed herself down on Callen.

Both lay out of breath in bed after they made love.

"Wow, maybe you can have more girls night's out. Damn that was amazing," Callen breathed out.

"Yeah, that was really amazing."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No of course not. Why would you think that?"

"Well since you decided to skip foreplay."

"Oh no you didn't hurt me." Lori rolled over on her side facing Callen. "I just wanted you so much," Lori said in a cheeky voice and she kissed him.

"I could feel that."

Lori gave him one more kiss before she lay her head down on Callen's chest and Callen wrapped his arm around her.

"Goodnight honey," Lori said.

"Goodnight sweetheart."

They fell straight asleep and didn't wake up till 10am the next morning and that was because the girls starting crying. Callen quickly dressed himself and went to get the girls.

"Good morning my little sweeties," Callen said as he walked into the room.

He stood over the babies' cribs and Myra and Julie smiled as they saw their daddy. Callen got them dressed and took them to the kitchen. Lori was making breakfast for them. Callen put them in their chairs just as Lori finished their breakfast.

"Good morning my little girls."

Callen and Lori fed the girls and had breakfast themselves.

"So how was your bachelorette party?" Callen asked.

"It was really nice. We had a very good time."

"Yeah I could tell last night by the amount of alcohol on your breath. So what did you do?"

"We went clubbing first and then we went to Kensi's house."

"Anything in particular that you wanna share?"

"No not really. We just a nice girls' night out."

"That's nice."

"I'm guessing you'll have one too. I'm sure the guys have something planned too."

"Yeah I think so too."

They had a quiet weekend with the girls and Callen went back to work on Monday. Lori was off. She only worked 3 days a week.

…..

"Good morning," Callen and Lori said as they walked into the bullpen.

"Good morning," Kensi, Deeks and Sam said.

"So how was your bachelorette party? Kensi won't say anything about it," Deeks said.

Lori looked over at Kensi and smiled. She didn't say anything and sat down behind her desk.

"You're not gonna tell me either, are you?"

"Nope."

"Come on, just tell me. What did you girls do?"

"Sorry Deeks. That's between us."

Deeks looked at Callen.

"Don't look at me. She didn't tell me the specifics either."

Deeks wanted to say something but was interrupted by Eric's whistle.

"New case on deck guys," Eric said and they followed him upstairs.

"What have we got Eric?" Callen asked as they walked into OPS.

"Sergeant David Edwards has been missing as of yesterday afternoon. When they got this video they send the case to us," Eric told them as he put the video up on the screen.

They saw Edwards heavily beaten on screen.

"We want the technology Edwards has been working on. You'll hand over the information if you want to see him alive again. If not we'll kill him," a man on the video said.

"What was Edwards working on?" Callen asked.

"He was working on a new technology for weapons on submarines and navy ships," Nell told him.

"Information like that in enemy hands could be deadly," Kensi said.

"I agree Ms. Blye. That's why you're on this case. You are to bring Edwards back safely," Hetty said as she walked in. "Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, Ms. Carter, someone is waiting in the boatshed for you to brief."

"Alright. Kensi, Deeks, you check out his house, see what you can find there." Kensi nodded and she and Deeks left. "Eric, Nell, see what you can find out about this technology and who might has Edwards."

10 minutes later they were at the boatshed.

"Captain James?" Callen said as they walked into the boatshed.

"Yes, thank you for meeting me here," James said as he shook their hands.

"Do you know who might have Edwards?"

"There are a lot of terrorist groups who would want the technology Edwards is working on."

"Any specific threats?" Lori asked.

"Not really."

"What exactly was Edwards working on?" Sam asked.

"He was working on building new weapons for us. Weapons that would enhance our ships and submarines, more powerful and stronger weapons. Rockets that would be able to travel further and more precise."

"A lot of people who would want that technology."

"Exactly, that is why we contacted you guys. We can't let that technology fall in enemy hands."

"Do you have any leads on who might have taken Edwards?" Callen asked.

"Our best guess is this group," James said as he but some papers on the table. "They are Cuban terrorist group. We have been going after them for quite some time now. They attacked one of our ships that was sailing in front of the coast of Cuba."

"Stronger ships would be deadly for them," Lori said.

"Exactly."

"Could you send everything you have on this terrorist to our analyst?" Callen asked.

"Of course, anything I can do to help you guys."

Callen called Eric.

"Hey Callen," Eric said once his face popped up on screen.

"Hey Eric, we're sending some information to you about a terrorist group that is a suspect in this case. See what you and Nell can find out about them."

"You got it Callen."

They wrapped up there and went back to the office.

"Hey guys, what did you find out?" Lori asked Kensi and Deeks as they walked back into the bullpen.

"Not much. His house was pretty clean. My guess is they didn't kidnap him from his house," Kensi answered.

About 3 hours later they finally had a solid lead. They had 30 minutes before the deadline expired and they would kill Edwards. The agents went to the armory to gear up before they left.

15 minutes later they were standing outside the warehouse.

"Alright, we've got 15 minutes before they kill him. Find Edwards and find him fast," Callen said.

Everybody moved into position and breached the building. They split up, each in a different direction. Lori was the first one to come across Edwards.

"Guys, I've got Edwards. South-East corner, 3rd room down the hall."

"Copy that," Callen said.

"I'm moving in."

"No Lori, wait for us."

Lori waited outside while keeping an eye on Edwards. Suddenly she saw one of the men raising a gun towards Edwards. Without thinking twice she moved in.

"Federal Agent! Drop you weapon!" Lori said.

Lori shot one of the men and she moved back behind the wall. She fired again, hitting one of the guys in his arm. She shot the other man as well, but not until he already had fired a round at Edwards. 2 one of the men were dead. The one Lori had shot in his arm was still breathing. Lori moved into the room just as he was about to pick up his gun. Lori shot and killed him before he could fire off a shot.

Lori quickly went over to Edwards. He was still breathing but barely.

"Eric we need an ambulance. Edwards is in bad shape," Lori said through to com.

"On it's way."

Callen and Sam came into the room guns raised.

"You okay Lori?" Callen asked.

"I'm good. Edwards needs help," Lori answered as she kept pressure on his wound.

5 minutes later the ambulance was there and they took Edwards to the hospital. The 3 men were taken away by the coroner and they wrapped up there.

"I told you to wait," Callen said a bit angrily as they walked towards the car.

"What would you have want me to do? Watch them kill Edwards," Lori snapped at him.

"Of course not. But you could have been hurt."

"I took a risk okay. It comes with the job sometimes."

The others stood and watched as the two of them bickered. They didn't speak to one another on the ride back to the office.

"I just got a call from the hospital. Unfortunately Mr. Edwards didn't make it. His injuries were too severe," Hetty informed them as they walked back into the building.

"Damn," Sam said.

"You did all that you could do. At least his technology didn't fall in enemy hands. Go home and I'll see you tomorrow."

"This probably wouldn't have happened if you allowed me to move in sooner," Lori snapped at Callen, still angry with him.

"You don't know that. You could've been hurt yourself."

"I know how to do my job!"

"Guys, stop yelling at each other. You're driving me crazy," Sam intervened.

Callen and Lori grabbed their stuff and went home. They didn't talk during the ride home.

When they got home it was almost 6pm. Lori went to put the girls in bath while Callen made dinner. Lori was still a little pissed at him. During dinner they didn't speak either. Callen went to put the girls to bed after dinner while Lori cleaned up.

When Callen was done putting the girls to bed Lori was in their bedroom folding some laundry. Callen watched her as he leaned against the doorpost. Lori caught him staring at her.

"What?" Lori said.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Callen said as he walked towards her and sat down next to her on the bed. "I know you made the right call. I probably would've done the same. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Lori stopped folding the laundry and looked at him.

"I was just doing my job. I couldn't stand by to watch him get killed."

"I know honey. You made the right decision," Callen said as he grabbed her hand. "It's just….. I guess sometimes I wished you weren't a special agent. I can't help but worry about you when we're out in the field."

"I know you worry honey. I worry about you too. But we are both very good special agents. We have to trust one another to do their job."

"I do trust you honey. I just love you so much. I don't want to see you get hurt. I shouldn't have said it to you like that."

"It's okay honey."

Callen pulled Lori towards him and kissed her. He pulled her leg over his hip and pushed her down onto the bed. Before they knew it the hamper with laundry was pushed onto the floor and they were both naked in their bed.

"I love you Lori," Callen said.

"I love you too G."

Callen kissed her again and they made love. They lay together in bed just watching some TV after they made love.

...

That Saturday evening Callen and Lori were sitting on the couch just watching some TV when there was a knock on the door. Callen went to answer it.

"Hey Sam," Callen said.

"Hey G, you're coming with me."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. I'm just borrowing your fiancé for the night Lori."

"Just bring him back in one piece."

"I will. I'll bring him back around 2/3am."

Lori had to laugh a bit as Sam blindfolded Callen and took him to his car. She thought back to her bachelorette party and wondered what the guys had planned for Callen.

"Where are we going?" Callen asked.

"You'll see when we get there."

10 minutes later Callen felt the car stopping. Sam took him inside somewhere and the blindfold was removed.

Callen was surprised. Everyone was there, Deeks, Sam, Eric and Nate. He looked around and he noticed he was in some sort of club.

"It's ours for the night G," Sam said.

Sam ordered a round of beer for everyone. They were having a good time and were laughing with one another.

"G, come over here and sit down on the chair. We've got a surprise for you," Sam called.

Callen walked up to the chair and sat down.

"What's the surprise?"

"Just watch and enjoy G."

Music started playing and Callen saw a woman appearing in a sexy cop outfit.

"You didn't?" Callen asked as he looked towards Sam.

"Just enjoy it G. It's your bachelor party."

The woman started dancing and stripping for Callen. Callen had to admit that she looked pretty good. She wasn't Lori but she looked pretty good. Callen shoved a dollar bill under her g-string. After the woman had left the guys went back to partying. Some of the guys made their own cocktail. They also did some karaoke. Since everyone was pretty drunk by that point, the songs came out a bit off key and sloppy. Everyone laughed at one another. Callen and Sam even sang a duet. Callen was really enjoying himself.

Lori had a nice quiet evening with the girls and she went to bed around 11pm. She woke up at 4am. She felt next to here and noticed the bed was empty. She went out to look for Callen but he wasn't home. She called his cell phone but it went straight to voicemail.


	27. Chapter 27

She called him again, no answer. She got worried, she feared something had happened to Callen. She was about to call Sam when she saw the door open and a very drunk Callen stepped into the house.

"Hey there baby," Callen said.

"Where have you been? Sam said you'd be back round 2/3am. It's past 4 now."

"I'm sorry honey," Callen said as he wandered over to Lori and he wanted to kiss her but Lori pushed him away.

"You're way too drunk."

"Come on honey, let's just have some fun," Callen said as he cornered her against the wall.

"Not when you're like this G."

"Come on baby. I _want_ you." Callen moved his lips towards her neck and kissed her.

Lori loved the feeling when he kissed her like that. Callen pressed his body into her and Lori felt how turned on he was. Lori wanted to stop him since he was very drunk but she couldn't because it felt so damn good. Callen felt her surrendering to his kisses. Just as Lori thought her legs would give in Callen lifted her up. Lori wrapped her legs around Callen as Callen pressed her against the wall.

Callen was thankful that Lori was wearing a night gown. Callen slid his hand up her leg and under her night gown. A moment later Lori felt Callen's hand where she wanted him. Callen hit her on the right spots with his lips in her neck and his fingers between her legs. She was right on the edge when Callen pulled away from her. She looked at him confused and whining. The confusing didn't last long. She heard Callen fumbling with his belt and zipper. Silently she begged him to hurry up. It was like Callen heard her thought. Before Lori knew it Callen had pushed himself inside of her. God this man felt so good. Lori was still on edge from Callen's previous actions so it didn't take her long to reach her peak. Callen held her as she was quivering uncontrollably. Once she came down from her high Callen moved towards their bedroom, still inside of her.

He lay her down on the bed and removed their clothes, he only pulled out momentarily to take Lori's panties off and pushed himself right back into her when it was off. He waited until he was sure Lori had regained her breath again and he continued their love making.

Out of breath they lay in each other arms, enjoying the afterglow of their love making. It didn't take them long to fall asleep.

Lori woke up around 9 the next morning. She looked next to her and saw a half naked Callen lying in the bed, his bottom half was covered by the sheets, and she thought back to their little encounter a couple of hours ago. Smiling she dressed herself and went to get the girls. The girls smiled as they saw their mommy.

"Good morning my little sweeties."

Lori changed and dressed them and took them to the kitchen. She fed Julie and Myra before she put them in their playpens. It was almost 11 and Callen still hadn't come out of bed. Lori walked into the bedroom and found him still asleep. She got into the bed next to him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"G, honey, time to get up." Callen slowly started to wake up. "Time to get up sleepyhead."

"What time is it?" Callen asked still half asleep.

"11am."

"I'll be right out," Callen grunted.

Lori got off the bed and picked up their clothes from the night before. Callen sat up in the bed and his head immediately felt heavy. Lori handed him a clean pair of boxers. Lori opened the curtains in their bedroom. The light was way too bright for Callen. It hurt his head even more.

"Please close the curtains honey."

"Aw what's the matter? My poor baby got a hangover?"

"Yeah, I guess I drank a little bit too much last night."

"A little bit? You were really drunk when you got home. But on one hand I kinda like it," Lori said as she stepped close to Callen and put her arms around his neck.

"And one what hand is that?"

"You remember what happened last night, after you got home?"

"Not really. It's kinda a blur."

"Well, allow me to refresh your memory," Lori replied and she kissed him. "You and me against the wall in the living room." She said with a cheeky voice as she placed kisses on his jaw.

"Ah yeah, I remember something about that."

"Well, I'd love to get a repeat of that," Lori said and she wanted to kiss Callen but he stopped her.

"As much as I would love that, not now. My head hurts."

"I know something that will help," Lori said and she walked off towards the kitchen.

Callen got dressed and joined her in the kitchen.

"Here you go honey. This should help. Just don't ask what's in it."

"Thanks honey." Callen took a sip. "Argh, this tastes terrible."

"Yes I know, but it really helps. Trust me. I've needed it sometimes. By the way why where you home so late, I thought Sam said you'd be home by 2/3?"

"What time was I home?"

"Around 4."

"Really? That late? Well we must have stayed longer. I know we went to Deeks' after the club closed."

"Ah okay. I was just wondering. I woke up and you weren't here so I was wondering where you were."

Callen didn't do much the rest of the day.

Monday Callen went back to the office.

"Morning G," Sam said as Callen walked into the bullpen.

"Morning Sam."

"You had a nice Sunday?" Sam asked with a smile.

"I had the worst hangover."

"Yeah you had enough to drink."

"Yeah I did."

Luckily for Callen it was a slow day. It was just after 5pm when Callen walked into the house.

"Hey honey," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"Hey baby. How was work?"

"Fine. Not really busy. How was your day?"

"Very well. I took the girls to the park."

"That's nice. And did you two like that?" Callen asked as he tickled their tummies and the girls smiled.

"Yes they liked it very much."

"Good. I can't believe how big they've already gotten. It seems like just yesterday I saw them lying there in the NICU," Callen said as she sat down next to them on the ground.

"Yeah I know. They grow really fast."

"Before we know it they'll be walking and talking."

"Yeah. It's gonna be so nice when they call us mommy and daddy for the first time."

"That would be really sweet."

"Well, I guess you're up first. Cus a baby's first word is usually dada."

"Really? Well I'm sure not long after that they'll call you mama as well. Won't you my little sweeties?" Callen blew their tummies causing the girls to giggle. "You like that?" Callen did it again.

"It seems like they do. Why don't you keep them company while I go make dinner?"

"With pleasure."

Lori walked towards the kitchen and looked back at Callen and the girls. He absolutely loved them, that's for sure. He loved playing and spending time with them and the girls loved it too. Every time they saw their daddy they would smile.

"G, could you set the table?" Lori called when dinner was almost ready.

"Yeah of course," Callen replied and he picked up the girls and put them in their chairs.

A little later they started crying and screaming when their food didn't come fast enough.

"Yeah, yeah, easy you two. It's coming," Lori said.

Lori put the food on the table and they fed the girls while they ate themselves. After dinner Callen took the girls for their bath while Lori cleaned up. When Lori was done cleaning up she walked to the bathroom and found Callen in bath with their 2 girls.

"Hey there's mommy, maybe mommy wants to join us?"

"Of course mommy wants to."

Lori took her clothes of and joined them in the bath tub.

"Maybe we can take them to the pool this weekend. They love being in the water," Lori suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Yeah they definitely love it. Two little water bugs," Callen said as he tickled their tummies.

They stayed in the tub for a little while before they took the girls to bed. Callen and Lori looked at them for a little while. They looked so cute, lying in their cribs, sucking on their pacifiers while looking up at them with their blue eyes.

…..

That weekend they met with the photographer again to go over the details of the day. After the meeting him they took the girls to the pool. The sun was shining brightly so they made sure the girls were protected against the sun. They carried them to the water and put them in their floaters. The girls smiled as Callen and Lori guided them through the water. They stayed at the pool for a couple hours before going home. The girls fell asleep on the ride home so Callen put them in their cribs when they got home.

Lori was in the kitchen when Callen walked out the girls' room. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her.

"They really had a good time today," Callen said and he placed a kiss in Lori's neck.

"Yeah they did. It's nice seeing them smile like that."

"Yeah me too. And it seemed like you were having a good time too," Callen said as turned Lori in his arms.

"Well if the girls are having a good time so will I."

"Yeah me too. And I can think of enough other things to do so you have a good time," Callen said and he lowered his lips to her neck and he found her sweet spot.

"G," Lori moaned.

Callen lifted her up and sat her down on the counter. Lori automatically wrapped her legs around him.

"Really? Here honey?"

Callen looked and her and smiled before he planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

"We haven't done it here," Callen said with a cheeky smile on his face.

Callen's lips went back to her neck and before Lori knew it Callen had taken her blouse and bra off. Callen trailed kisses down her body, paying extra attention to her breasts. Lori was moaning as Callen kissed her body. God this man was just so perfect and he knew how to pleasure her. When Callen got back up to kiss her Lori made work of his shirt and pants. Callen took the remaining clothes off of them and they made love right there on the counter. In her ecstasy Lori knocked off some glasses that were sitting on the counter. They were both too busy to pay attention to it at the moment. They were just about to go over the edge when there was a knock on the door. They both grunted.

"Hang on, I'll be right there. Just a minute," Callen yelled without stopping his actions.

"Just finish honey, I'm really close."

"Me too."

A few seconds later they both went over the edge. They dressed themselves quickly and Lori went to open the door while Callen picked up the shards of glass. Lori quickly fixed her hair before she opened the door.

"Hi Sam," Lori said when she opened the door.

"Hi Lori. I came to pick G up. We're going to the basketball game."

"Ah yeah right, come on in." Sam stepped into the house. "G, Sam's here to pick you up."

"For what?" Callen called from the kitchen.

"The Lakers game G," Sam answered.

"Right. Just give a minute to freshen up."

"We just got back from the pool with the girls," Lori said hoping Sam wouldn't notice they just had sex.

"Ah right. How are the girls doing?" Sam asked.

"Very well. They are growing nice and big. They are really cute. They've started crawling since a while so we have to make sure nothing is within their reach."

"Yeah, babies will take anything they can get their hands on."

"Yeah we know."

"Hi Sam," Callen said as he stepped into the living room.

"You ready?"

"Yep all done. Bye honey," Callen said as he gave Lori a kiss.

"Bye honey. Have fun you two."

"We will. See ya."

Lori got some housework done while the girls were asleep.

….

"Hey G, can I ask you something?" Lori asked as they sat together on the couch after they had put the girls down for the night.

"Sure, what's up?"

"It's just something that's been on my mind for a little while."

"What is it honey?"

"I was kinda thinking about how you'd feel if we were to get a place of our own."

"We already have a place of our own. That's where we live," Callen said confused.

"I know honey. It's just technically it's your place, not ours. I would like to get our place, maybe something a little bigger."

"Where's this coming from? I thought you liked living here."

"I do. It's just ever since that thing with Comescu I don't feel safe here. I don't know. It's hard to explain."

"Honey, I promise you no one is gonna hurt you or the girls. I won't allow it."

"I know honey. I don't know, I just feel that way. And I know you like living here. I like it too. I just want something that's really ours."

"I can't believe you're suggesting this," Callen said a bit angrily as he got up from the couch and walked to their bedroom. Lori followed him and found him sitting on their bed.

"I'm sorry honey. I know you like living here. It's your first real home. I get that. And I like it here too. I just can't help this feeling that it's your place in a way and not ours," Lori said as she sat next to him on the bed.

"Like you said, it's my first real home and I like it here. I have very good memories of this house."

"I know and I don't ever wanna take them away from you. It's just, I like the idea of us buying a family home for the four of us. You don't have to answer now, just think about it. I respect your decision no matter what. It was just a thought."

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you honey," Lori replied and gave him a kiss. "I love you, no matter what you decide."

"I know honey," Callen said and he gave her a kiss. "I love you too."

The next day Callen and Sam were driving to get lunch.

"Everything okay G? You're a little quiet today."

"I'm fine. It's just something Lori said last night."

"What she say?"

"She wants us to get a place of our own, a real place of our own."

"What do you think?"

"I don't know," Callen said as he stared out the window. "I like living here. It's home to me, but on the other hand Lori has got a point too. I mean technically it's my house not ours."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I honestly don't know. If I say no I feel like I'm letting her down or something but if I say yes I would have to move out of this house and I'm not sure if I want too. Don't get me wrong I love living with Lori and our girls, it's just…. I don't know."

"Talk to her about it. I'm sure she understands where you come from. Just be absolutely certain of your decision, make sure you're okay with the decision you're gonna make."

"Yeah I will, thanks Sam."

It was a pretty quiet day so Callen had some time to think about Lori's suggestion.

"Hey honey," Callen said when he walked through the door.

"Hey honey, how was your day?" Lori asked and Callen gave her a kiss.

"Fine, quiet. How was yours?"

"Fine too. The girls and I had a pretty quiet day. Played outside with them and put them in the little pool."

"That's nice." Callen watched as the girls started crawling towards him. "Hey you two, come to daddy." Callen sat down on the ground.

"You noticed daddy was home huh?"

"Yeah they did," Callen replied as he picked up both girls and gave them a kiss. "Daddy missed you today."

"They missed daddy too."

"I'm sure they did. They always miss me."

"Yeah, they are definitely daddy's little girls."

"And mommy's little girls too, right girls?"

They smiled at Callen. Callen sat there with them in his arms for a while.

"I just love seeing you like this, daddy. You really are the best daddy I could ever ask for."

"Thank you honey. That means a lot to me. I really love being a daddy, I never thought I would love it this much but I really do."

"That's really good. And the girls love their daddy too."

"And they love mommy too. You really are a good mommy. I'm very happy to have these two beautiful girls with you. I wouldn't wanna have it any other way."

"Thank you honey, neither would I," Lori said and she bent down and gave Callen a kiss.

Callen stayed there with the girls while Lori prepared dinner. They had a nice dinner until the girls started throwing their food around.

"Myra, Julie, no throwing food," Lori said in a stern voice but the girls kept throwing.

"Myra, Julie, listen to mommy. No throwing food."

It didn't really help so Callen and Lori took their food away causing the girls to start kicking and screaming.

"No, you can't have it if you're gonna throw it," Lori said.

A little later they girls stopped kicking and screaming so Callen and Lori gave them their food back. This time the girls ate it in peace. Lori got the girls washed up and ready for bed while Callen cleaned up.

"Goodnight my little munchkins," Lori said and she gave both girls a kiss and she put the music mobiles on. Lori walked out to the kitchen. "You need a hand honey?

"Nah, I'm good. Almost done."

"Did you clean up the dining room?"

"Yeah I did. They made quite a mess of it."

"Yeah they did. They're just testing us I think. She how far they can go."

"Well I'm sure they know now they can't throw food."

"I hope so. I'm just gonna go change into something more comfortable."

"Sure."

When Lori came back into the living room in her PJ's she saw some candles lit and the fire place was on. Callen just came walking out of the kitchen with 2 glasses a wine.

"Hey honey, come sit down," Callen said.

"What's the occasion of this?" Lori said as she walked to the couch and sat down.

"Do I need to have a special occasion to spend a romantic evening with my fiancée?"

"No, of course you don't. I love it when you're romantic like that."

"Good, cus I love doing it," Callen said and he kissed her.

Lori leaned against Callen and Callen put his arm around her.

"Listen honey, I've been doing some thinking."

"About?"

"About what you said, about us getting a place of our own."

"And?" Lori said as she lifted her head and looked into Callen's eyes.

"I can understand why you asked it and I would love to get a family home with you. But I hope you understand where I come from."

"Of course honey. I know you love living here."

"Good, but I've giving it some thought and if we can find a house that we both like I'm okay to move."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. It's like you said, I'll always have the memories of this house no matter where I am. And yeah maybe something a little bigger is nicer."

"You really wanna move? Don't feel pressured into this."

"I'm okay with it honey. Like you said after that Comescu thing you don't feel safe. I thought about it then too and I want you and the girls to feel safe."

Lori had a smile on her face and she kissed Callen.

"I love you. And there's no rush, we'll find a place we both like and as long as we don't we keep living here."

"Good, yes we will. I love you too."

"Although it would be nice if we got it around the time we get married, that way we can spend the first night in our new house as husband and wife."

"I like that idea," Callen said and he kissed Lori.

Callen blew out the candle and put the fireplace out. He scooped Lori up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom while kissing her. He gently put her down on the bed. Clothes were taken off and throw across the floor. They made passionate love.

…

Callen and Lori were at work and were on their way to talk to a suspect when Lori's phone went off. It was Emily. She hardly ever called when they were at work so Lori was worried something was going on with the girls.


	28. Chapter 28

"Hey Emily," Lori said as she answered the phone and Callen looked her way.

"Hey Lori."

"Everything alright with the girls?"

"Yes they are doing fine. I just called to let you know that Myra tried to stand just now. She pulled herself up at the table. I was just in time to grab my phone so I filmed it. I'm sending the film over to you."

"Alright, that's fine. Thank you."

"No problem. See you later."

"See ya," Lori said and she hung up.

"Everything okay honey?" Callen asked.

"Yeah the girls are fine. She just called to tell us that Myra tried to stand. She made a movie and she's sending it over."

"Ah that's nice. You got it?"

"Yeah just now."

Lori played the video and held her phone so both she and Callen could see it. Sam was in the car as well, he was driving. Callen and Lori saw their little girl trying to pull herself up to the table. She was bouncing up and down first trying to get to the table edge and then to pull herself. After a while she pulled herself up. Smiling she was slamming her hands down on the table.

Both Callen and Lori had to smile as they saw their little girl.

"I guess we have to make sure from now on that we don't leave anything on the table," Lori said.

"Yeah I guess so."

Sam glanced over at them and saw them smiling and remembered when his kids did that for the first time. Lori sat back in her seat and sent a text to Emily.

"Thank you for the movie Emily. That is really cute."

It was just before 6pm when Callen and Lori walked into the house.

"Hey guys," Emily said.

"Hey Emily," Lori said. "Hey, my little sweeties." Lori walked over to the girls and she picked up Myra. "Hey, my big girl. Mommy saw that you were standing today. That's my big girl." Lori gave her a kiss.

"Did Julie try and stand too?" Callen said.

"She watched her sister and then she tried it too but she couldn't get it so she started crying," Emily said.

"Aw my sweet girl," Callen said as she picked up Julie. "You'll get the hang of it too sweetie." Callen gave her a kiss.

"You really have two great kids and you're great parents," Emily said.

"Thank you Emily. That means a lot to us," Lori said.

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Callen said and he walked her to the door.

"Can you stand for mommy again?" Lori said as she sat down on the couch and she tried to get Myra to stand on Lori's legs.

Myra stood on Lori's legs while Lori held her and she was bouncing up and down.

"You're such a cutie."

Lori sat there and played with the girls while Callen made dinner. This time the girls behaved during dinner, no more food fights. Callen put the girls in bath and then in bed. By 7.15pm the girls were asleep in their cribs. Lori was cleaning up there toys when Callen came into the living room.

"They are already asleep."

"That's good."

"Before we know it the girls will start walking."

"Yeah, it would be nice if they could walk at someone's hand at our wedding."

"Yeah that would be cute. Seeing them walk down the aisle first and then you," Callen said as he put his arms around Lori's waist.

"Yeah that would be cute. Who knows maybe they will."

….

It was just a month before Lori and Callen's wedding. Lori had already booked a honeymoon for them. Callen asked her sometimes for a little hint but she didn't give it.

"Don't worry honey, it's really beautiful there," Lori said.

"Come on, just a little hint."

"It's nice and warm weather there."

"So something tropical?"

"You could say that."

"Hmmmm, come on just tell me."

"Nope, we agreed I would book the honeymoon and you didn't get to know it."

"Fine. Then you don't get to know all the special things I have planned for our honeymoon."

"That's fine. Just surprise me. I love it when you surprise me."

"Good," Callen said and he gave Lori a kiss.

"I've been looking at some houses and I found a really nice house, in a kid friendly neighborhood."

"Really? Let me see."

Lori grabbed her laptop and let Callen take a look at the house. They already made 2 house visits but they didn't like those houses.

"That really does look nice."

"Yes and it has a big yard for the girls to play in."

"That's nice. Maybe we should go and take a look at it."

"You sure?"

"Yes. It looks really nice."

"Alright, I'll call the realtor to set up an appointment."

Lori called the realtor and they could come for a visit this Saturday.

…

Before the house visit on Saturday Lori went to the dress shop with the bridesmaids for their final fitting. The adjusted some things on the dress and Lori could come and pick it up 2 weeks later.

"Could I also pick out bridesmaids dresses then?" Lori asked.

"I thought you already had those," the saleswoman replied confused.

"Yes I do, these are for my daughters."

"Ah okay. What size do your daughters wear?"

"See, that's just it. They are growing really fast so if I buy something now I don't know if they're gonna fit in it on our wedding day."

"You're wedding day is in 4 weeks from now right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Okay, so that would be 2 weeks when you come to pick up your dress. That can work for the girls' dresses. You can take them then right away."

"Great thanks. See you in 2 weeks."

Lori went back home to pick up Callen and the girls. They took the girls with them.

"Good afternoon," the realtor greeted them as Callen and Lori walked up to the house.

"Good afternoon," Callen greeted.

"How old are they?" The realtor asked as she saw Myra and Julie.

"8 months," Lori answered.

"They are really cute."

"Thank you."

"Well, shall we?"

Callen and Lori followed the realtor inside.

They had to walk up some steps before they were at the front door. They stepped into the house and into the spacious living room. To the left of the room was a stairway that led to the upstairs floor, it had some few steps then a 90 degrees corner and then more steps up. They could look over the living room from the landing. They walked straight ahead to a swing door and they entered the kitchen. The kitchen was roomy. It had a kitchen block and island. Left of the kitchen was a scullery, through that you could go back to the living room again. In the left far corner was a stairs to the upstairs floor. Under the stairs and a little to the left was the entrance to the basement. On the right of the basement entrance was the back door which led into a spacious garden. They had enough room for toys for the girls and a swimming pool for when it was hot. In the garden was also a driveway where they could park their cars.

They took the kitchen stairs to the upstairs floor. They came into a long hallway. There were 5 rooms, 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. On the front side of the hallway was also a side door that led to the stairs for the attic.

They walked back down and went downstairs and to the basement. The basement was roomy as well and well isolated, so they could make an office or a guest room of it.

Callen and Lori liked what they saw and could imagine living here. There was enough room for the girls and their toys and there was room should there ever be an addition to the family or for when Lori's family came over.

"Do you have any questions?"

"If we say yes, how soon can we move in?" Lori asked.

"In a week."

"That should give us plenty of time to get it to get it in order before our wedding," Lori told Callen.

"Yeah that's right. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I really like how it looks. It's nice and roomy."

"Yeah I like it too. It looks really nice."

"So shall we buy it?"

"I think so. Unless you wanna look further."

"No I think this is right for us."

"Alright."

"So we have a deal then?" The realtor asked.

Callen and Lori looked at each other.

"Yes we have," Callen replied.

"Alright, congratulations. If you follow me to the office we'll get the paperwork started."

Callen and Lori followed her to the office and signed the papers. Callen paused for a second before writing down his signature.

Before going home they stopped by the jewelry store to pick up their wedding rings. They went back home and Callen put the girls in their cribs for their afternoon nap.

"Are you sure you want that house?" Lori asked when Callen walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah I'm sure. Why?"

"I noticed your hesitation when you signed the papers."

"Oh that. I was just thinking if I was absolutely sure before I signed it."

"And are you?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have signed it otherwise." Callen wrapped his arms around Lori's waist. "Don't worry honey. I'm sure of buying that house. I'm glad we did. It feels good."

"Yeah it does. I'm glad we did it too," Lori told him and she gave Callen a kiss.

Callen kissed her back and pushed her back against the counter. Lori moved her arms around Callen's neck.

"I love you Lori."

"I love you G."

Lori squealed as Callen picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Playfully he gently threw her down on the bed and lay down on top of her.

"You really are an amazing woman. I'm really happy to have a family with you."

"That's sweet honey. I'm really happy to have a family with you too."

Callen kissed her again and started taking her clothes off. A half hour later they were both naked in their bed and they made love.

After their love making Lori took a bath. Callen decided to join her which resulted in another round of love making, in the bathtub this time.

The next day Lori and Callen took care of some more details of their wedding. Everybody had already RSVP´ed so they send the number of people to the vendor. They also sent out payments to everyone they already could. They had agreed to write vows for each other. Callen sat down at the dining room table and Lori at the kitchen table so that they couldn´t see each other´s vows.

Monday Callen went back to work, Lori didn´t work on Monday´s. She took the girls grocery shopping and went to the mall to get some new clothes for them. She also bought some bridesmaids present to give at the rehearsal dinner.

…..

Callen and Lori were at work early and went to the gym to do some training. They sparred together. Callen was really impressed with Lori's fighting skills. She was back to her normal fitness after her pregnancy. Lori threw Callen on the ground just as Sam walked into the gym.

"If you wanna be on top all you had to do was ask," Callen joked, not knowing Sam was there.

Lori wanted to respond but the she heard Sam's chuckle. Quickly she stood up.

"Hi Sam, didn't know you were there," Lori said.

"It's okay. You keep on fighting."

"We're done actually. You two have a go at it if you like."

Lori moved over to the punching machine while Callen and Sam started sparring together.

A little later Nell came into the gym.

"Hetty needs you guys up in OPS," Nell informed them.

"Alright, we'll be right there," Callen replied and the three of them quickly showered and joined the others up in OPS. "What do we have Eric?"

"Corporal James Reed was found death in his apartment this morning," Eric informed them and he put the crime scene photos up on the screen.

"Yuck, that looks messy," Deeks said.

"Any leads who did this?" Callen asked.

"No not so far."

"What was he working on?" Lori asked.

"He was working with naval intelligence. He had top security clearance," Nell told them.

"Guys, I just found that Reed went into the system just before he died," Eric spoke as he was typing on his tablet.

"What did he access?" Sam asked.

"Let me see… He accessed files for SEAL team 3's mission in Afghanistan."

"If they made him access those files….." Kensi started.

"Then the mission would be compromised," Callen finished.

"Which is why we need to find these people fast and make sure that SEAL team 3 is safe," Hetty spoke as she entered OPS.

"Eric, Nell, see what you can find about this mission and who would want Reed dead. Kensi, Deeks you go look through his apartment. We'll go to Coronado to speak to the team," Callen told them and they left.

A chopper took Callen, Sam and Lori to Coronado.

"NCIS, we're here to speak to Commander Stowe," Callen told the guard as they showed their badges.

They were shown in and went to the office building. They were met by Commander Stowe in the briefing room.

"You must be with NCIS?" Stowe asked as he walked into the room.

"Yes, Agents Callen, Hanna and Carter," Callen answered.

"Can you tell me if our mission has been compromised?"

"At this moment we don't know. We're doing everything we can to find out who did this and if the mission is compromised. Have you received any threats to this mission?"

"No nothing. The preparations went very well. We are supposed to fly out tomorrow evening."

"We'll do our best to have this solved before then."

"Is it possible we speak to the SEAL's?" Sam asked.

"Sure, I'll have them send over here."

They spoke to the SEAL's and they all agreed that no one from the SEAL's was behind this, so they took the chopper back to LA.

"Anything new Eric?" Callen asked as he walked into OPS.

"Kensi and Deeks took Reed's hard drive so Nell's looking through that and I'm looking at cameras in the area and Reed's phone records and financials."

"Alright, let me know if you find anything."

3 hours later they had a lead on who killed Reed. Callen and Lori had to go undercover as guns for hire for the terrorist group in Afghanistan. Callen and Lori were gearing up in the armory.

"Did you call Emily to let her know what's up?" Callen asked.

"Yeah I told her we needed to go somewhere for work. She didn't mind. She would stay at the house until we are back."

"Alright that's good."

Eric came into the armory. "Here are your passports and information on your aliases."

"Thanks Eric."

They took button cams and ear pieces and left for the airport.

…

Hours later then landed on the airport of Kabul. A man was waiting for them and he took them to the house.

"Boss, the Americans you asked for are here," the man informed him as he walked into the boss' office.

"Send them in."

Callen and Lori walked in.

"So you are Mike and Melissa Young?"

"Yes we are," Callen answered.

"Sit down. Welcome to Afghanistan. I'm really impressed with your body of work. You two always work in a pair?"

"Yes, we're better that way," Lori replied.

"Very well. I've got your first job."

He threw them a file. Callen looked through it. They were supposed to kidnap a SEAL that was currently stationed in Afghanistan.

"Any problems?"

"No," Callen answered.

"Then leave. You have 4 hours to complete your mission."

Callen and Lori left the office and took whatever they needed. They took one of the cars and left for the place the SEAL was supposed to be. They found him in a dinner, alone. They waited for him to walk to his car. Just before he got it they took him from behind and punched him unconscious. They put him in the back of their car and drove off quickly.

On the way back the house Callen wondered about this mission. It had been way too easy to grab the SEAL. He hardly had put up a fight.

"Very well," the boss said when they got back. "You passed the test."

"Test? What test?"

"To see if you did what you were told. Welcome to the gang."

Callen and Lori were showed to their room so they could get changed.

"I knew it was way too easy," Callen said once he had put on the shower.

"Yeah I know. So is he really a SEAL or is he just posing as a SEAL. If he's really a SEAL he could be the one who led them to Reed."

"Could be. We'll keep an eye on him."

They had managed to plant a bug on the SEAL when they had taken him. Back at OPS they were tracking him. Kensi, Deeks and Sam were also in Afghanistan as backup. Eric tracked the SEAL back to the navy camp in Afghanistan and they found out that he was a SEAL.

Sam was beyond pissed when he heard that. When he left the camp again Kensi, Deeks and Sam went after him and captured him.

"Boss we have a problem," one of the men spoke.

"What is it?"

"Tim has been taken. The found his car empty on the side of the road."

"Damn it," the boss said as he punched his fist on the table. "Find him. Take Mike and Melissa with you."

Callen and Lori came back at the house a little later.

"Boss, we found him. Some American Agents have him."

"Agents? How would they know? Did you two tip them off?"

"No honestly we didn't. We don't even know of this agency, NCIS or something."

"Get him back. Kill whoever you need."

Callen and Lori went to the warehouse Sam, Deeks and Kensi were holding the SEAL. They shot their way through the building, making sure they didn't hit any of the others. They both had a flesh wound when they had rescued him. Sam had already gotten a confession out of him.

"Good work," the boss said when they got back to the house. "And you, how could you be so stupid to let yourself be caught?"

"I'm sorry boss, it won't happen again."

"No it won't." He pulled out his gun and shot him in the head. "We proceed with the plan."

Callen and Lori stayed in the house and were sure that their cover wasn't broken. In the middle of the night they woke up to a lot of gunfire around the house. They grabbed their guns and went downstairs.

"What's going on?" Callen asked as they ducked behind the wall

"American's, they are attacking us. Tim must have led them to us."

Callen looked out the window and saw Sam, Deeks and Kensi with them. Callen and Lori snuck out of the house. Once they were out of the house they gave them the signal and the gunfire erupted. Bullets were flying everywhere.

Callen and Lori were outside the house when the gunfire had stopped. They saw the agents walk into the house. The next thing they knew they heard the clicking of a gun behind them. They turned around and saw the boss standing there.

"Well well, looks like we have ourselves a couple of spies."

"What us? Come on, you know better."

"I know that all this trouble started since you two arrived."

He aimed his gun towards Lori and Callen. They next thing they heard was the sound of gunfire.


	29. Chapter 29

Callen and Lori looked up and saw him lying on the floor. They look behind them and saw Sam there.

"You good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah we're good, thanks," Callen answered.

Everyone of the group was dead. They wrapped up there and went back to the Navy base.

"Thank you for your help, we had no idea Tim was working with the terrorist group," the captain said.

"You're welcome," Callen said.

They could spend the night, what was left of it since it was 4am, at the Navy base before going home in the afternoon.

"I'm glad we're going home soon," Callen said as they were getting into bed.

"Yeah me too. I miss the girls."

"Yeah me too. Hope they've been good to Emily while we were away."

"Yeah hope so too. It will be nice to see them again."

"Yes it will be, but we still have a night without them," Callen told her as his lips made their way down her neck.

"G, not here. Somebody could hear us."

"So we just have to be quiet," Callen said as the rolled on top of her and kissed her neck again.

"G," Lori moaned.

She wanted to stop him since they were at the navy base but it felt so damn good. She gave in and tried to be as quiet as possible as they made love. They dressed themselves again before going to sleep.

That afternoon they went back home. They had a stop-over in Miami before flying to LAX. They landed around 6pm in LAX. They grabbed their bags and went to the office quickly and then went home. It was just past 6.30 when Callen and Lori walked into the house.

"Hey Emily," Lori said.

"Hey guys, welcome back. Case closed?"

"Yes case closed. How has it been here?" Lori asked as she and Callen walked over to the playpen where the girls where.

"Very well. They missed you guys but they did well."

"That's good to hear," Lori replied as she picked Myra up. "Hey sweetie, mommy missed you." Lori gave Myra a kiss and Callen did the same with Julie.

"Thank you for staying with them Emily," Callen told her.

"You're welcome. I understand now the life of an agent is sometimes."

"Yeah it tends to mess with family life every now and then."

"Yeah it does."

"Well, I'll see you guys Wednesday."

"Yep see you Wednesday," Lori said as she showed her out.

"Mommy missed you two very much," Lori spoke to Myra and Julie.

"It's good to be home again."

"Yeah it is. It's hard being away from them."

"Yeah I agree. Is it just me or have they grown bigger?"

"Yeah, they do look a little bigger then when we left."

Callen and Lori put the girls in bath. The girls were enjoying themselves in the bath and were happy that Callen and Lori were back at home. They put them in their cribs and put their music mobiles on. They stood over their cribs, watching them as they fell asleep.

"They look so cute," Lori said.

"Yeah they do. I really missed them."

"Yeah me too. It's good to see them again."

"Yeah it sure is. I never thought I would enjoy family life this much," Callen said as they walked out of the room.

"It's clear to me that you love the girls very much," Lori spoke as they sat down on the couch.

"Not just the girls," Callen replied and gave Lori a kiss.

"I love you too honey."

They sat down on the couch watching some TV before going to bed.

"Ah, it feels good to be in my own bed again," Lori stated as she lay down on the bed.

"It sure is," Callen told her as he climbed into the bed as well. "Very good."

Callen moved closer and kissed Lori's neck.

"G, please. Not tonight. I'm tired, didn't get much sleep last night."

"Okay. Yeah true. Goodnight honey," Callen replied and gave her a goodnight kiss.

"Goodnight honey."

They fell asleep in each other embrace. The next morning they woke up early when the girls were crying.

"That's one thing I didn't miss," Lori said as she looked over to her alarm clock and it was only 6am.

"I'll get them honey. You can stay in bed for a little longer."

"Okay," Lori said as she drifted off to sleep again.

"Hey you two, you're up early," Callen said as he walked into the room. The girls smiled as they saw Callen above their cribs. "Come on you two."

Callen dressed them and took them to the kitchen and fed them.

"Daddy's really happy to have you two and mommy in his life. Daddy loves you three very much. And in just a few weeks mommy and daddy are getting married and then we're gonna move into our new home where you two can grow up. It has a nice big room for you and a big yard where you girls can play. It looks really nice, I'm sure you two are gonna love it there."

Callen took the girls to the living room and played with them on the floor. Myra pulled herself up by Callen's knee and was using his knee as a drum. Callen didn't mind because it didn't hurt.

"You're having fun sweetie?" Called asked and gave Myra a kiss.

Julie tried to pull herself up by Callen's knee as well. At first she couldn't get it but eventually she succeeded just as Lori walked into the room.

"Good morning," Lori spoke.

"Good morning Lori. Did you see that honey?"

"Yes I saw. Julie pulled herself up. I saw," Lori replied as she gave Julie a kiss.

Lori watched as Julie and Myra both used Callen's knee as a drum. They were laughing as they did that.

"Looks like they are enjoying themselves," Lori told Callen.

"Yeah they are. They are so cute."

"Yes they are."

Callen played with the girls while Lori got some breakfast.

…..

"So your wedding is in a few weeks," Sam said to Callen as they were on their way to a suspect.

"Yeah it is," Callen replied with a sigh.

"You don't sound too happy about that."

"I am happy to get married to Lori. It's just…"

"It's just what?"

"It's just that since we're so close now I'm afraid Lori might run again."

"She's not gonna run G. She loves you and the girls."

"I know she does. It's just…. I don't know."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

"No, I don't want her to think I don't wanna marry her, cus I do."

"Just talk to her, I'm sure she'll understand."

"Yeah maybe I will."

Later that day Sam decided to talk to Lori about what Callen had told him earlier.

"Hey Lori," Sam said when he walked into Lori in the hallway.

"Hey Sam."

"You got a sec?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"It's about G."

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine. He's just worried that since you're so close to the wedding that you're gonna run again."

"What?! That's ridiculous. I would never do that. I love G and I wanna marry him."

"That's what I said too. It's just G never had must of a family life growing up."

"Yes I know. He was in a lot of foster homes. But it's different now. He has a family."

"I know. I think he's just afraid he might lose you. He's been abandoned by so many people in his life, he's afraid you'll do the same I think."

"I made a mistake by running away that time. I regret that. I'll never do that again. I'll talk to him."

"Alright."

When Lori walked into the bedroom that night Callen was already lying in bed, he was watching some TV. Lori looked at him from the doorway and she remembered what Sam had told her earlier.

She walked up to the bed and straddle Callen. Before Callen could do anything Lori had her hands on his cheeks and she gave him a passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Callen asked once Lori broke the kiss.

"Just because I love you very much."

"I love you too."

"And you don't have to be afraid that I'm gonna run again. I'm not going anywhere."

"Sam talked to you?" Callen asked a little annoyed.

"Yes he did. Why didn't you just talk to me?"

"I don't know," Callen replied and he brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm not going anywhere except walking down the aisle to become your wife. I know I ran away twice, but that was because of the pregnancy hormones. It was a mistake I see that now. I was scared. But I'm not scared any more. I know what I want and that's to become your wife. Don't worry honey. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you, Myra and Julie."

Lori gave him another kiss.

"Deep down I knew you weren't gonna run but I just couldn't help but have this feeling. I guess it has to do with my upbringing."

"I know you didn't have it easy growing up and that you were bounced around from foster home to foster home and people always leaving you. But that's not the case anymore. You've got a family now and you're family isn't going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise honey. Me, Julie and Myra are not going anywhere," Lori answered and she gave Callen a very passionate kiss.

Callen moved his arms around her back to pull her closer and kissed her back. Callen felt Lori's passion as she kissed him and he knew she wasn't going anywhere. He was glad about that; he couldn't live without Lori and the girls.

Lori broke the kiss and they looked at each other with passion filled eyes. Before they knew it there lips were crashing down on each other again. Callen slid his tongue over Lori's lips and Lori eagerly opened her lips to give him access. They just fit together so perfectly. When they made love they felt like one. It was so perfect. They both knew what the other liked. And they made sure that they pleased the other one.

Lori crawled closer to Callen and she felt how turned on he was. She was just as turned on. Every time it amazed her how fast they could turn each other on. Callen's hand slid under her PJ top and Lori moaned against his lips as she felt his hands on her skin. Callen lifted her top up over her head. He always liked it when she was wearing a PJ top when they were making love, meaning she had no bra on so nothing stood between Callen and her breasts once he had taken off her top.

He pleasured her before rolling her around on her back. It was still early in the evening so they decided to have a very nice long foreplay before actually making love. Every touch put Lori's skin on fire. It took her too long before she felt Callen's touch where she wanted it. When he was done pleasing her she teased Callen just the same. They both had already come twice before Callen buried himself in her.

Hours later they lay tangled up in each other's arms, very content.

"That was really good," Callen breathed out.

"Yes very good. You were amazing."

"You were not so bad yourself. I love you Lori Carter."

"And I love you G. Callen," Lori said as they looked in each other eyes and kissed each other one more time before going to sleep.

….

It was just 2 more weeks before Lori and Callen's wedding. Lori and the bridesmaids went to pick up their dresses. Lori's sister wasn't there but Lori and she had the same size so Lori could fit her dress. Lori also took the girls with her so she could get dresses for them.

"Good morning," Lori said as she walked into the bridal store.

"Good morning," the sales woman said. "So this must be the two girls you talked about?"

"Yes they are. This is Myra and this is Julie."

"They look really cute. How old are they?"

"Thank you. They are almost 9 months old."

"Very cute. Well, let's see if we can find some dresses for them."

Lori followed her to the baby department. The sales woman asked what size they wore and grabbed some dressed in that size. She showed the dresses to Lori. Lori really liked one of the dresses. It fitted really well with her own dress. She tried to get the dresses on the girls but they weren't really helping. Myra even started crying.

"Come on Myra. Just let mommy put this dress on. It's okay sweetie."

After Myra calmed down Lori tried to the dress her again. This time Myra let her. The dresses really look good on them. Lori picked out matching shoes for them. She tried on her own dress. It fitted perfectly. The bridesmaids' dresses were perfect as well. Lori paid for everything and they went home. Kensi took Lori's dress home with her so Callen wouldn't see her dress.

"Hey honey," Lori said as she walked into the house.

"Hey honey," Callen replied and Lori gave him a kiss. "Everything okay with the dress?"

"Yep it fits perfectly. It's really beautiful."

"I bet it is. Where is it now?"

"It's at Kensi's so you can't see it yet."

"Ah yeah of course. What's in the bag?"

"My shoes, the dresses for the girls and their shoes."

"Can I see those?"

"Yes you can."

Lori showed Callen the dresses for the girls.

"They looked really nice. I bet you two looked very cute in that," Callen spoke as he tickled their tummies, causing the girls to giggle.

"Yeah they looked very cute. But Myra didn't really like trying them on."

"You didn't?" Callen spoke as he lifted Myra up blew kisses on her tummy.

"Eventually she did," Lori said smiling. She loved seeing Callen play with the girls.

Lori made some sandwiches for them and after lunch they took the girls to the park. The girls loved playing outside. They used the swings, the slide and even the seesaw, where Callen and Lori held the girls and pushed the seesaw up and down. 2 hours later the girls were tired and fell asleep in the stroller on the walk home. Lori and Callen lifted them out of the stroller and put them in their cribs.

That night Sam and Michelle came over for dinner with their kids.

"Uncle Callen!" The kids squealed when they saw Callen.

"Hey you two," Callen said as he picked them up and spun them round.

"Hey Sam, Michelle," Lori said as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey Lori. It smells delicious," Michelle replied.

"I just put it in the oven so it'll be done in about 45 minutes."

Lori got them something to drink and they sat down in the living room. Sam's kids where playing with Myra and Julie.

"They have really grown," Michelle stated.

"Yeah they have. They grow so fast that we have to buy new clothes almost every other week," Lori replied.

"Yeah kids tend to do that. But they look really cute. Have they started walking or talking yet?"

"Not walking yet, but they can pull themselves up at something and stand. And talking not yet, they sometimes try to but it's just babble for now, but that's really cute."

"Haha yeah I bet it is."

40 minutes later they sat down to eat.

"So it's just 2 more weeks till the wedding. Getting nervous?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah a little, but healthy nervous. We're both really excited to get married," Lori answered as she looked at Callen.

"Yeah we really are. I can't wait to see Lori walk down the aisle in her wedding dress."

"It really is a very special day. I remember mine. It was so beautiful."

"Yeah it was. Especially seeing you walk down the aisle," Sam added.

"We both can't wait. I'm sure Lori will look very beautiful in her wedding dress."

"Oh yes she does. It's a very beautiful dress. It really fits her well," Michelle told him.

"I can't wait to see it. I sometimes ask Lori to give me little hints as to what the dress looks like but she never gives any," Callen spoke with a smile and nudged Lori.

"Nope and I'm not going to, no matter how often you ask," Lori teased back.

Sam and Michelle chuckled as they heard Callen and Lori.

"Sam did the same with our wedding. I never told him one bit. It drove him nuts."

"Haha yeah I know what you mean. It drives G nuts sometimes too."

They had fun during dinner. Michelle and Lori cleaned up while Callen and Sam put Myra and Julie to bed.

"They really are two cute girls," Sam said as he put Julie in her crib.

"Yeah they really are."

"I never thought I would see this, you being a father and about to get married."

"No me neither. But I'm really happy with Lori and the girls."

"Yes I can see that. Did you talk to Lori about your fear of her running away?"

"She talked to me. Someone told her about our little conversation," Callen replied as he looked at Sam.

"I just wanted to help you."

"It's okay Sam. We talked it out. Everything is fine now. She understood."

"Alright then. It's nice that you found someone who understands you."

"Yeah it really is," Callen replied as he put the music mobiles on and they left the room.

Sam and Michelle stayed a little longer for some coffee before going home.

"That was really nice. We should do that more often," Lori told Callen.

"Yeah we should."

Callen and Lori relaxed a bit before going to bed.

…..

Lori was doing some grocery shopping with the girls and she felt like she was being followed. She got into her car and drove home. She didn't go straight home. She saw in her review mirror that a car was following her. She drove around LA to see if that car kept following her. 5 miles later the car was still following her. She called Callen, who was at work.

"Hey Lori," Callen said when he answered the phone.

"Hey G."

Callen heard in her voice that something was up. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"I think I'm being followed. There's a car tailing me ever since I left the store. I took some detours but it's still following me."

"Where are you at?"

"Somewhere in Marina Del Rey. About 2 blocks from the boatshed."

"Can you see the license plate?"

"Yeah, it's 9-G-I-K-5-3-2."

"Alright, I'll have Eric can run a trace. Are the girls with you?"

"Yes they are."

"Alright see if you can shake them and meet me at the boatshed."

"Alright, I will."

Lori drove around for a few more blocks until she was sure she had lost them and she went to the boatshed. Callen was already waiting for her inside.

"Everything okay?" Callen asked worried.

"Yeah I'm good. I lost them."

"Do you have any idea who they are?"

"No none. They followed me from the store. I noticed in the store that someone was watching me and when I got in the car they followed me."

"Alright, Eric's running a trace on the license plate."

"Hey guys," Eric said as his face popped up on the screen.

"Hey Eric, did you get a match for the license plate?" Lori asked.

"Yes I did," Eric answered and he put a picture up on the screen.

Lori was shocked when she saw the picture.

"That's not possible."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Warning this chapter contains light abuse and torture.**

**Disclaimer: don't own NCISLA or the characters. I only own Lori, Myra and Julie.**

* * *

"What's not possible? You know this guy?" Callen asked.

"Yeah that's Brian Walker. I killed him. Well at least I thought."

"What happened?"

"It was before I joined NCIS, with the FBI. We were after this group of illegal street racers who were transporting drugs from Mexico into the US. I teamed up with the LA team for that since one of the guys was on our watch list. We caught these guys when they were running drugs. Walker was trying to escape in his car so I followed him. He crashed my car and he turned around to come see if I was really dead and to finish the job if not so. He was about to shoot me when I pulled my gun and shot him. I walked up to check if he was dead, which I was sure he was since I shot him in his chest multiple time, when I was shot myself by one of his team mates. The next thing I knew was that I woke up in the hospital. They found his team mate but there was no sign of Walker. They searched for Walker in local hospitals and such but they didn't found him so he was presumed dead."

"So you're not sure if you killed him?"

"I'm pretty sure. I shot him multiple times in his chest and he fell down. He lay motionless on the ground with blood purring out of him. He couldn't have lived through that without medical attention."

"Well apparently he did. You're absolutely sure it's him?"

"Yes I'm 100% sure. I remember his face like it was yesterday."

"Alright. Eric, see what you can find on this guy."

"On it."

"Ms. Carter, I want you to stay in the boatshed until this is over," Hetty said as she popped up on the screen.

"No, if this guy is after me I want to catch him, make sure he's really dead this time."

"It's too risky honey," Callen tried to reason with her.

"I'm a federal agent, I can't take care of myself. I want to make sure he's really dead this time to make him pay for what he did."

"You're not going Lori. You're staying here."

"I am going and you can't stop me."

Callen realized fighting her on this was no use. She was stubborn. When she made up her mind there was no changing it.

"Fine. But you're not going anywhere without me."

"Fine," Lori sighed. "I'll call Emily to see if she can watch the girls."

15 minutes later Emily was at the boatshed. She would stay there with the girls till this was over. Callen and Lori went to the office.

"Have you got anything, Eric?" Lori asked as they walked into OPS.

"There's nothing on this guy since you supposedly killed him. It's like he vanished of the face of the earth until he popped up today. But he's using the name Ryan Cowan now."

"What do you have on him?"

"Since you shot him he's been living in the Canary Islands until recently. Since a month he's been living in LA. He got a couple of text messages from a number here in LA around the time of the move that you are living in LA and he was asked if he still wanted revenge on you."

"Can you trace the phone where the message came from?"

"Already ahead of you but it's a burner so no luck there."

"What do you have on Walker since he's been in LA?"

"Couple of credit card payments, some phone activity and some locations that could be his house."

"See what more you can find about these addresses, we'll check them out."

"You think that's wise? What if he's waiting for you at one of these locations?"

"It's better than sitting around waiting for him to find me. I'm going so either you're coming with me or you're staying here."

"I'm coming with you," Callen said and they walked out of OSP. "You don't leave me much choice," Callen whispered under his breathe.

"Alright Kensi, Deeks, you check out these two. G, Sam and I will check out the others," Lori said.

"What do you want us to do when we get him?" Kensi asked.

"If you get him try to bring him in alive."

"You got it," Kensi replied and they left.

They both checked out their first address but there wasn't anything there. Lori, Sam and Callen were on their way to the second address when Kensi called.

"Hey Kens," Callen said when he answered the phone.

"We checked out both addresses, but no one was there. We planted a small camera near the entrance so we can see when he's there. We're heading back to the office now."

"Alright Kens, we're gonna check out the second address," Callen informed here and hung up.

5 minutes later they were at the second address. They saw a car in the driveway. Callen and Sam walked up to the door while Lori stayed in the car. Sam knocked on the door and a man opened. Lori saw it was Walker. Callen and Sam made a quick talk with him before returning to the car.

"That's him," Lori said.

"You sure?" Callen asked.

"Yes absolutely."

They walked back to the house and Sam knocked again.

"Federal Agents! Open up!"

They heard some rumbling in the house and from the side entrance Lori saw Walker running.

"I got Walker, he's running," Lori said and she ran after him.

Callen and Sam were busy with two other guys and dodging bullets.

"Federal agent! Freeze Walker!"

Walker ran into a dead end.

"Well, well Agent Carter," Walked said as she turned around. "Here we meet again. Thought you killed me didn't you."

"How'd you survive?"

"We threatened a doctor to patch me up, then retreated to the Canary Island to recuperate but now I'm back."

"Yes, and this time I make sure you're dead when I shoot you."

"You're not gonna get the chance," Walker said and Lori heard the click of a gun behind her. "I suggest you drop you're weapon Agent Carter."

Lori walked backwards till she felt the gun in her back. She quickly turned around and knocked the gun out of his hands and knocked him down on the floor. Walked grabbed his gun and fired at her. Lori was just in time to duck behind a container. She grabbed her own gun and fired back at him. She saw Walker jump up on the container and he went over the wall. Lori followed him. Just as she climbed over the wall Callen ran into the alley and followed her over the wall.

Walker ran and was picked up by a car. Lori fired after the car but it was too far gone for her to hit it successfully.

"You okay?" Callen asked when he caught up to her.

"Yeah I'm good. Walker got away."

"We'll get him later. Did you get the license plate?"

"Yes I did, I'll give it to Eric so he can track it," Lori answered and she called Eric.

They went back to Sam. Callen and he had detained the other guys in the house and the guy in the alley.

"Eric's tracking the car," Lori said as she joined them.

"Good. These guys aren't talking much," Callen told her.

"They are no use to us. Hand them over to the LAPD."

"You sure they can't be of use to us?" Sam asked her.

"No, Walker just hires bodyguards. He doesn't tell them anything. They are just muscle. They don't know anything."

"Alright, if you say so."

They turned the guys over to LAPD and went back to the office. As they walked in Eric was coming down the stairs.

"Hey Eric, did you find the car Walker used to escape?" Lori asked.

"I lost him. Kaleidoscope is searching, so if it pops up again we'll know."

"Alright. You got anything else on Walker?"

"We've looked through his financials and found out that every Tuesday, so today, he goes to a local spa to get a massage and such."

"You got the name of that spa?"

"Yes it's on your phones."

"Great thanks Eric. Do you know at what time?"

"I hacked their system and found out he has an appointment for 3 o'clock."

"That's in 30 minutes," Lori replied as she looked on her watch.

"Do you think he's still going?" Callen asked her.

"It's worth a look. But we three can't go in, he has already seen us."

"Kensi, Deeks, you're up."

They drove to the spa. Kensi went in as a masseuse, Deeks as a client and Sam went to the security office as a security guard. Callen and Lori stayed in the car.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Callen asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine G. I need to get this guy, I can't sit back and let you guys handle it. It has to be me who catches him."

"Why are you so determined to get this guy?

Lori sighed. "I owe it to my partner."

"What happened?"

"He killed my partner."

"I'm sorry. That's though. We're gonna get this guy, I promise. What happened? Was that on the same case as you got shot?"

"Yes it was. She was in the car with me when he crashed it. She was on the side where he hit the car. I heard she was dead on impact."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's hard to lose a partner. We will get this guy, I promise," Callen told her as he leaned over to her seat and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"I hope so. I can't let him get away again."

"Walker's inside," Deeks said through the com.

"Alright, keep an eye on him. As soon as he goes into the massage cabins you're up Kensi," Callen told them.

"Got it," Kensi replied.

"You got eyes on him Sam?" Lori asked.

"Yes, he's on screen."

"Alright, let Kensi know as soon as he goes into the massage cabin."

They waited 15 minutes for Walker to go into the massage cabin. As soon as he went in Kensi followed.

"Hello, I'm Kira and I'll be your masseuse today," Kensi said as she walked in.

"Where's Laura?"

"Laura is sick today, I'm filling in for her."

"You better be good," Walker mumbled as he lay down on the table.

Kensi grabbed some oil and slipped a bug in his pants and started massaging him.

"You're doing it very well. I might ask for you every week."

"Thank you sir. I'm glad you like it."

After 10 more minutes the massage was done and Walker left.

"Bug's in place," Kensi said.

"Good work Kens," Callen spoke. "Come back here and we'll follow Walker when he leaves."

15 minutes later Walker left the spa and Callen followed him. They followed him to a house in Bel-Air. They stayed outside watching the house. Walker left again about 30 minutes later and they followed him to a warehouse. They got out and looked around the warehouse before the made a plan to go in. Kensi and Deeks took one side and Callen, Sam and Lori the other.

They breached and searched through the building. Lori found Walker in an office.

"Walker! Federal Agent! Freeze!" Lori said as she aimed her gun at him.

Walker and his bodyguards looked around as they heard that and the bodyguards pulled their gun. They started shooting on Lori. Lori ducked behind a closet before firing back and hitting both bodyguards. Walker made a run for it. Lori went after him. She lost him. Seconds later he jumped up behind her and grabbed her and grabbed her gun.

"Well well Agent Carter, we meet again," Walker said as he pressed her gun against her head.

"You didn't think I came here alone did you," Lori said and at that moment Callen appeared.

"Let her go, drop the gun!" Callen said as he aimed his gun at Walker.

"I suggest you drop your gun. Otherwise I'm gonna put a bullet in her pretty little head.

"I'm not gonna asked again. Drop the gun!"

"As you wish." Walker faked to put his gun down, went it was almost done he shot at Callen.

Callen managed to duck away, barely. The bullet had graced his arm.

"You follow me and she's dead," Walker said as he started backing up, pulling Lori with him.

Lori struggled against the arm that was in her neck but Walker put her gun against her head.

"Stop moving or I'm gonna put a bullet in you."

He pushed her into the car and took off. Callen run after them and caught the license plate. He silently cursed to himself that he got away with Lori. He quickly called Eric.

"Eric, I need you to track a license plate, 6 - Charlie – Leo – Richard – 5 – 9 – 0. Walker got away with Lori."

"On it."

"You okay G?" Sam asked when he caught up with Callen.

"He got away and he took Lori with him."

"We'll get her back G, don't worry. If he wanted to kill her he would have done so already. You're arm okay?"

Callen looked down at his arm. He hadn't even realized he was bleeding. "Yeah I'm good, just a grace."

They went back to the office after Kensi patched Callen up with the first aid kit. Callen went straight upstairs to see Eric.

"Have you got anything Eric?"

"No not yet. Kaleidoscope is looking for the car."

"What about Lori's cell phone?"

"Cell phone is turned off. It's dead. Can't activate it from here."

"What about the bug we placed on Walker?"

"Not active anymore, guess he found it."

"Damn it. Keep trying to find her."

"Will do."

Callen walked outside and called Emily.

"Hey Emily, how are the girls?"

"They are doing fine. How's the case going?"

"Not that good. The guy we were after just took Lori."

"Oh no is she okay?"

"Not sure, we're still looking for her. I just wanted to make sure the girls were doing okay."

"They are doing fine. We're safe here. There's an agent here with us so don't worry. The girls are safe."

"Okay thank you."

"Hope you find Lori soon."

"Yeah I hope so too. Take care of the girls."

"I will."

Callen hung up and went back to the bullpen.

"You okay G?"

"I will be once we find Lori."

….

Walker had taken Lori to another warehouse and tied her up to a chair.

"After all these years we meet again. And now I have you."

"I should've just killed you went I had the chance."

"Yes you should cus now I'm gonna make you suffer for what you did."

"For what I did?! What you did was way worse."

"Ah yes you're partner. Well that was just collateral damage."

"Collateral damage? You killed her!" Lori spat out as she fought her restrains.

"Yes and now I'm gonna do the same to you but very slowly."

"My fiancé will find me and he'll come and get me."

"I know, but the question is, will he find you alive when he gets here? First I'm gonna kill you very slowly, then your fiancé and those two beautiful girls of yours."

"You stay away from them!"

"That's all up to you. To more you resist the more I'll hurt the ones you care about."

"You have no idea who you're messing with. My fiancé is a federal agent as well and we are both part of an elite unit. They'll come and get me and when they come here you wished you'd never had taken me."

"You're threats don't scare me."

"That's your second mistake."

"What was the first?"

"Taking me hostage."

Lori was rewarded with a struck of his hand to her face and her eyebrow split open.

…

Callen was in the shooting range shooting some frustrations off. He hoped they would find Lori fast. He was so worried about her. He didn't want anything to happen to her. This guy was dangerous and he had already killed her partner and Callen feared he came back to finish the job with Lori. When he was done shooting he walked back to the bullpen.

"Any news?" Callen asked.

"No, not yet," Sam answered.

"Damn it," Callen replied as he tossed his phone on his desk.

"We'll find her Callen. Don't worry," Kensi tried to comfort him.

"I just hope he doesn't hurt her."

"Lori's strong. She'll be fine."

"I hope so."

Upstairs Eric and Nell were busy trying to find Lori and Walker.

…..

Lori got more strikes to her face from Walkers hand. Her eyebrow, her lip and her nose were bleeding.

"So where are those Agents you talked about? Looks like they aren't coming."

"They'll come. They'll find me and they are gonna come for me."

"Keep telling yourself that. Until they get here you and I are gonna have some fun."

He trailed his finger down Lori's jaw. Lori felt disgusted when he touched her.

"It's almost a shame to mess up this beautiful face," Walker told her as he lifted her face up towards him. "Almost."

Lori got another strike to her face.

"They are gonna kill you when they find you."

"Oh yes I'm aware of that. But they have to find me first. And as long as they don't you and me are gonna have some fun."

Walker pulled her head back by her hair and moved a knife slowly and lightly over her neck.

….

"I think we got something," Eric said as he and Nell came down the stairs.

"What do you have Eric?"

"We tracked the car Walker used to get away and we found it at another warehouse in LA. We checked traffic cams in the area and saw him getting out with Lori," Eric told them as he put a video up on the screen.

They saw Walker pulling Lori out of the car and into the warehouse with 2 other guys.

"Who are they others?"

"Facial reg identified them as Peter Jameson and John Corday. They are two of Walkers bodyguards," Nell informed them.

"Is Lori still there?"

"Traffic cams haven't caught them leaving," Eric answered. "The address in on your phones."

"Alright, good work. Let's go."

They went to the armory to gear up and left for the warehouse. 20 minutes later they arrived and saw Walker's car still outside. They split up and entered the warehouse.

….

Lori was struck some more times by Walker and she had a cut on her upper arm, which Walker made with the knife.

"I think they aren't coming sweetie," Walker gloated.

"They'll come. You can count on it."

"Are you sure? It's been a while already."

"They'll come."

"Well they are not here yet. Give us some privacy," Walker spoke to the guards and the guards went outside the office.

Walker opened her restrains. Lori tried to strike him but he blocked it.

"Bad move," Walker said and he struck Lori hard in her face.

He pulled Lori towards a table and put her down on the table. Lori tried to fight him as best she could but he was stronger. He pinned her arms down on the table and secured them with handcuffs. Lori was afraid of what he was going to do. She heard him open his zipper and she was afraid he was going to rape her. She heard some gunfire in the distance. Walker didn't seem to hear it. He continued with his actions. He had stripped out of his pants and underwear and he was trying to do the same with Lori. Lori kicked him as best she could. She hit him right in his private parts and he backed off and fell to the ground screaming with pain.

Lori heard the gunfire coming closer and she hoped it was Callen and the others. Faster then she expected Walker got up.

"You bitch, you're gonna pay for that."

Walker struck her again in her face and again until Lori stopped fighting him. Once she stopped he resumed his actions. He heard the gunfire in the distance but he didn't care. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to feel and see what he was doing to her. Damage her for good by raping her. Lori silently prayed Callen or someone else would get her soon.


	31. Chapter 31

Lori felt Walker's hands on her legs and she felt he was trying to pull her pants and panties down. He got rid of her pants and tried to get her panties down. Lori was crying and she prayed that Callen would be here soon, there was nothing she could do to stop Walker from raping her.

Callen searched through the building hoping to find Lori. He heard some screams coming from the room. He moved towards the noise. The door was locked. He kicked the door in and was shocked by the sight he saw before him. He saw Lori lying on the table with her hands tied, Walker hovering above her trying to undo her panties. His pants were already lowered and so were Lori's pants. He didn't have a clear shot at Walker, if it went through him it would hit Lori. Without thinking Callen ran up to them and pushed Walker away from Lori.

"You son of a bitch, you stay away from her!"

Walker lay there on the ground and he looked at Callen. He saw Walker making a move for Lori's gun. Without thinking Callen shot Walker. Walker fell backwards on the ground with blood pouring out of him. Callen grabbed Lori's gun and checked if Walker was dead.

"You okay G?" Sam asked as he came into the room, he heard the gunfire.

"Yeah, I'm good. Walker's dead."

Callen walked over to Lori. She lay still on the table.

"It's okay Lori, it's over," Callen said as he undid her handcuffs.

Lori flinched when she felt Callen's touch.

"It's okay Lori. It's me, G," Callen told her as he moved her face towards him.

"G?"

"Yeah it's me honey, you're safe. It's over."

"Walker?"

"He's dead. You're safe. He's not coming after you again."

Callen removed her other handcuff as well and dressed her up again. Quickly he checked for any bruising on her legs and was pleased when he didn't see any. Callen picked her up and carried her outside. The others watched as Callen carried Lori outside. Once Callen was outside the ambulance was just pulling up. The paramedics saw Callen coming towards them with Lori and they quickly unloaded the gurney so Callen could put her down on that.

Callen stepped back so the paramedics could take a look at Lori. As soon as they touched her she flinched again and she started kicking and screaming.

"Easy miss, we have to check you over," one of the paramedics tried to calm her down but it wasn't working.

"Lori, honey, let these people check you over. They're alright, they won't hurt you," Callen spoke to Lori as he grabbed her hand. Lori seemed to calm down.

"What happened to her?"

"She was kidnapped and she was abused, he also tried to rape her but I believe I got there just in time."

"Alright, we'll do a rape kit anyway, just to be sure. You want to ride with us to the hospital?"

Callen looked back to the others.

"Go G, we got it here," Sam told him.

He handed his riffle and vest over to Sam and got in the ambulance with Lori. Lori let the paramedics look after her in the ambulance. They took her to a private room in the ER where a doctor checked her injuries. Her eyebrow needed some stitching, her lip was cleaned up and the blood was removed from her nose, which wasn't broken. The cut on her arm was just superficial so the doctor put some bandage around that. Lori hadn't spoken the entire time and just lay there and let everything happen. She lay curled up in the bed. The doctor took Callen aside.

"Is it necessary for her to speak to a psychologist?"

"I don't know, maybe. But we can do it later, we've got our own psychologist."

"Alright, at this point I recommend it."

"Alright."

"The paramedics said that she was kidnapped and that the kidnapper tried to rape her."

"Yes, that is what I saw when I moved in the room, I didn't know if he succeeded. I don't think so since there were no bruises on her leg and she still had her panties on when I found her."

"Alright, I'll check just to make sure." They walked back to Lori. "Miss, I'm gonna have to check your legs now, could you maybe lower your legs for me please?"

Lori didn't lower her legs.

"Lori honey, it's okay. He's not gonna hurt you. It's alright." Callen sat down next to her on the bed. Lori flinched at first but relaxed when Callen put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "It's okay Lori. You're safe now. He's not coming after you anymore."

Lori lowered her legs so the doctor could take a look at it.

"I'm sorry Miss but I have to ask. Were you raped?"

Lori stayed silent.

"Lori, honey, could you answer the doctor please?"

Lori remained silent and still. So the doctor took a rape kit out and wanted to examine Lori.

"Could you help me remove her underwear please? The doctor asked Callen. Her pants were taken off earlier and Lori was wearing a hospital gown.

Callen nodded and tried to remove Lori's panties. As soon as Callen touched her hips Lori flinched and started screaming.

"No, no, get away from me!" Lori screamed.

Callen tried to calm her down. "Lori honey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you but the doctor needs to check you out."

Lori kept screaming and kicking and the doctor had no other choice but to give her a sedative. Callen watch with pain in his heart. He had no idea what Lori went through while Walker had her. He hoped he hadn't damaged her for good. Calling in Nate for this one was probably a good idea. Lori was still conscious but she stopped kicking and screaming which gave the doctor a chance to examine Lori. Callen really hoped Walker hadn't raped her. He couldn't watch the doctor examining Lori to see if she was raped.

"Good news, she wasn't raped," The doctor said. Callen turned around and let out a relieved sigh. "We're gonna take her for a scan now to see if she has any fractured ribs. You can go with her if you like."

"Thank you."

The nurse took Lori to the X-ray. Callen stayed outside to wait for her. He called Hetty in the meantime.

"Hello Mr. Callen, how's Ms. Carter doing?" Hetty asked.

"Physical she'll be alright. He didn't rape her."

"That's good news."

"Mentally is a different story. I think it may be a good thing if she talked to Nate."

"I think you may be right Mr. Callen. I'll give Mr. Getz a call."

"Thank you Hetty."

"If you want to take some time off it's fine with me. Take care of Ms. Carter."

"Thank you Hetty, I will."

15 minutes later Lori was brought back to the ER. Her ribs weren't fractured just bruised. The nurse put a bandage on and checked the bandage or her arm before leaving. Callen looked at her lying on the bed. She was distant. He hoped he would have his Lori back soon, since it was their wedding soon.

30 minutes later Lori still hadn't moved and Callen was afraid to touch her, afraid she would flinch again. He watched her as Nate came in the room.

"Hey Nate, thanks for coming."

"Hey Callen, Hetty told me what happened. Has she spoken yet?"

"No, no other then screaming to get away from her."

"It's understandable for her to react this way. What she went through is tough for any person to deal with. A lot of those people close themselves off after being rescued and don't like people touching them."

"Can you help her?"

"I can try." Nate moved closer to Lori's bed. "Hey Lori, it's Nate. How are you?"

"Go away. It's not safe."

"It's okay Lori. He's gone. He's dead. He's not coming after you again. You're safe."

Lori remained quiet. All of a sudden she shook up in the bed. "Myra and Julie I have to get to them." Lori tried to get out of bed.

"Lori, it's okay. They are safe," Callen tried to calm her down and tried to put her down on the bed.

"No, let go of me. I have to go to them," Lori yelled as she struggled to get away from Callen's hold.

"They are alright honey. It's okay."

Callen tried to pull her close to get her to calm down. Lori eventually calmed down and she broke down. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. Callen held her close and sat down on the bed and pulled her down with him. Callen looked at Nate.

"This is perfectly normal. This is good. At least she's letting it out now. I think it's enough for today. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Thank you Nate."

Nate left and Callen sat on the bed with a still crying Lori in his hands.

"Shhh, it's okay honey. I got you. Everything will be alright."

"I was so afraid of what he was gonna do to me."

"I know it was scary honey. But it's okay now. He's not gonna hurt you anymore."

"Promise?"

"Promise. He can't cus he's dead."

Lori seemed to relax a bit in Callen's arms. Callen just held her and she fell asleep a little later. A couple hours later Lori woke up and she was discharged. Callen took her home and called Emily to meet them back at home. Lori sat down on the couch when they came home. She hadn't spoken the entire right home. 5 minutes later Emily arrived at the house.

"Hey Emily," Callen greeted her.

"Hey Callen. How's Lori doing?"

"She'll be okay psychically, mentally will take a bit longer but she'll be okay."

"Yeah I can imagine."

"How are the girls?"

"They are fine. They did notice that something was going on."

"Hey Lori, look who's here."

"Hey Emily."

Lori looked at the girls' car seats next to her on the couch. The girls smiled as they saw Lori.

"Hey, you two." Lori picked up Myra from her car seat. "Hey sweetie, mommy is glad you're okay."

"Don't worry. They are perfectly safe. Callen made sure they were safe."

"Thank you for looking after them."

"It's my pleasure. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"I don't know if tomorrow is necessary. I think I'm staying home tomorrow to make sure Lori is alright."

"Alright, I'll see you next week then."

"See ya." Callen showed her out. Julie was still lying in her car seat and she started crying so Callen picked her up and sat down on the couch next to Lori. "It's okay sweetie."

Callen looked at Lori. She was holding Myra in her arms and she looked down at her. Callen hoped that seeing them and holding them would do her some good. The rest of the day was pretty calm and quiet for them. Lori seemed to be doing okay. Callen put Myra and Julie to bed just after dinner. Lori was pretty tired so she went to bed just after 9pm. Callen followed about 2 hours later. He was glad when he came into the room he saw Lori asleep. He crawled down next to her a fell asleep a little later.

In the middle of the night Callen woke up by Lori screams.

"No, no get away from me!" Lori screamed as she tossed around in the bed.

"Lori honey, it's okay. It's just a nightmare," Callen tried to wake her up.

A few seconds later Lori shook up in bed, gasping heavily.

"It's okay Lori. It's just a nightmare. Everything's alright."

Lori fell back down on the bed.

"It felt so real."

"It was real honey, but it's okay now. You're home, you're safe."

"Can you hold me?"

"Of course." Callen moved closer and put his arms around Lori and pulled her close. "It's okay honey. I've got you, you're safe."

Callen gave her a soft kiss on her head.

The next morning Callen woke up and saw Lori still asleep in his arms. He was glad she didn't have another nightmare. Callen decided to let her sleep for a while and went out to get the girls.

"Hey you two," Callen spoke as he saw that they were awake. They smiled as they saw Callen. Callen first took Myra out and changed and dressed her. He put her in her chair at the kitchen table and went back to do the same with Julie. He grabbed some food out of the fridge for them and fed them.

About an hour later Lori woke up and got out of bed. She walked into the living room where she saw Callen sitting on the couch with Myra and Julie watching some TV.

"Morning," Lori said causing Callen too look her way.

"Morning. Did you sleep okay?"

"Okay. I kept seeing these images in front of my eyes. But once I lay in your arms they got less."

"Well maybe we should do that every night then," Callen replied her with a smile.

"Yeah maybe. Hey you two, watching a movie with daddy huh."

Lori tickled their tummies causing the girls to giggle. Lori grabbed Julie and together the watch TV. Lori seemed to be doing a little better today. In the afternoon Nate stopped by to see how Lori was doing. Callen took the girls to their bedroom.

"You seem better then yesterday," Nate spoke.

"I feel a little bit better, except for these images I keep seeing."

"What kind of images?"

"I rather not talk about it."

"I know it's scary Lori but talking about it helps."

"They are just so frightening."

"I know. What you went through was horrible and it's normal to see these images. But trust me it's better to talk about it then to keep it inside."

"I had some last night while I was asleep and it felt so real."

"That's because they were real. You're mind deals with them in your sleep. What happened afterwards?"

"G woke me up and I was so afraid that I asked him to hold me."

"Did that help?"

"Yes, after that I didn't have any nightmares."

"That's good, so maybe you can start with that tonight, maybe that will keep you from getting a nightmare."

"Yes, I alright figured that."

"Can you tell me what kind of images you saw?"

"I'd rather not."

"I know it's scary Lori, but you have to get through this. And talking about it helps. If you like Callen can sit here with you to help you."

"No I rather do this without him. I don't want him to know what exactly happened to me."

"Alright that's fine. So let's start at the beginning. What happened?"

"I was followed when I went to the supermarket. I lost them and I called G and I went to the boatshed. That's where I found out that it was Walker who was after me. We went back to the office to see if we could find him. A few hours later we found him and we went to get him. He caught me off guard and he…." Lori sighed deeply. "He held a gun to my head. And he pulled me into his car and we drove off."

"Yes and what happened after he pushed you in the car?"

"We drove to a warehouse where he tied me up."

"What happened after that?"

Lori remembered what Walker did to her, everything was so scary. Lori rather not remembered. Those memories were so real to her. Every time those images came back to her it was like she was in the warehouse again. She pulled her legs up to her and hugged them and she remained quiet.

"Lori, can you tell me what happened?"

Lori remained quiet and moved back and forth.

"I know it's scary Lori but I would like you to tell me what happened."

"NO GET AWAY FROM ME!" Lori screamed.

Callen came into the room wondering what was going on, the girls were asleep in their cribs.

"Everything okay here?" Callen asked.

"I was trying to Lori to tell me what happened. It's common for them to react like this when they have to remember the worst parts. I think it's enough for today. I'll come back tomorrow again."

"Thanks Nate." Callen showed him out.

"You okay honey?" Callen asked as he sat down next to Lori on the couch. Lori remained quiet and she leaned against Callen. Callen put his arm around her. "It's okay honey. I'm here. Would you like to go to the park today with the girls when they are awake? Maybe it's good for you to go out."

"Maybe."

Callen and Lori stayed on the couch until the girls started crying. Callen went to get them and took them back to the living room and he sat down on the couch next to Lori.

"Look who are awake, mommy."

"Hey you two, did you have a nice nap?"

"I'm sure they did."

Callen handed Julie to Lori. Myra wanted to stand on Callen's leg. Callen held her as Myra was bouncing up and down and smiling.

"They are so cute," Lori said.

"Yeah they are. We made two very cute little girls."

"Yeah we did."

Callen and Lori put the girls in their stroller and took them down to the park. They sat down on a plaid on the grass and took the girls out of their stroller along with some toys. They girls were enjoying themselves. It was good for her to be around the girls. It seemed like momentarily she forgot about what had happened to her. After about an hour they went back home. When they got home they put the girls in the playpen. They had a pretty quiet rest of the day. When they went to bed Lori lay close to Callen. She felt safe in his arms and hoped she wouldn't have any more nightmares.

The next morning Callen woke up and was pleased to see Lori still asleep in his arms. She hadn't woken up in the middle of the night with a nightmare. Callen decided to lie in bed a little longer since the girls weren't awake yet. A little later Lori woke up.

"Good morning honey," Lori spoke.

"Good morning honey," Callen replied and he gave her a good morning kiss. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yes, no more nightmares."

"That's good to hear."

They stayed in bed until the girls started crying. Callen went to get them and together with the girls they lay in bed for a while. Callen held Julie and Lori held Myra. They were so cute with their dark blonde hair and their blue eyes. Their eyes were just as bright as Callen's.

In the afternoon Nate dropped by again. This time Lori asked Callen to sit with her. Callen was okay with that, if it helped her he would. He knew it was scary what Lori went through and he didn't need to know what happened to her but if she wanted him there he would do that for her.

"So Lori, how are you today?" Nate asked.

"A bit better. I slept better tonight and yesterday we took the girls to the park. That was pretty nice."

"That's good. It's good that you do stuff you would do otherwise."

"I think it was really good for her to be around the girls. She seemed happier in that moment," Callen said.

"That's good. So now where we left of yesterday. Are you okay to tell me what happened to you after you arrived in the warehouse?"

Lori looked at Callen. "I think I am."

Callen held her hand as Lori told Nate what happened in the warehouse. At some points Lori had to take a breath or take a deep sigh. Callen made sure Lori knew that he was there for her and that she was safe now. Nate was pleased that Lori had told him what happened to her in the warehouse.

"That's was very good Lori. I'm glad you told me. It helps to talk about it."

"I feel a little bit better now that I've told someone."

"That's good. Sometimes it also helps for people to write it down and then burn the paper. It's like you burn your memories of that moment then."

"Maybe that's a good idea."

"You could try it. It's okay if you don't want to. It's just an idea."

"Maybe I will. I'll see."

"You made very good progress today. Those memories will always be with you but it's important that you learn to deal with them and that you're not scared anymore or feel like you're in that place again."

"Thank you for helping me Nate."

"You did it yourself I was just here to guide you."

Callen showed Nate out the door.

"I'm really proud of you honey," Callen told her as he sat back down on the couch. "You did very well."

"Thank you for being here for me."

"My pleasure, honey." Callen gave her a kiss.

Lori was already in bed when Callen joined her, she wasn't asleep yet.

"I love you honey," Callen told her.

"I love you too."

Callen looked into her eyes and kissed her. He rolled on top of her while kissing her. He deepened the kiss. For a moment Callen though Lori would push him away but she didn't. Callen moved his lips down to her neck. Lori moaned with pleasure as Callen found her sweet spot. Callen never got enough of her. Her smell and sound were intoxicating for him. He moved his hands down lower, running them over her still covered breasts before sliding them under her pajama top and touching her breasts again. Lori allowed Callen to pull her top over her head and she did the same with his t-shirt. Callen then moved his hands lower to her pajama pants. He kissed her down her chest as he hooked his fingers in the waistband of her pants. Suddenly Lori's mood changed and she pushed Callen away.


End file.
